DE Mbakogu may be lost for the season

Defensive end Philip Mbakogu, considered to be Cal’s best pass rusher, may be lost for the season. He underwent surgery  on his left knee to address some cartilage problems after his last season finished with great success. Unfortunately, Coach Jeff Tedford said, “His knee’s not responding.” This is a huge loss to the pash rush, which was shown last Saturday to need some help.

Also, tight end Craig Stevens may play against Minnesota after suffering a concussion during the opening kickoff against Tennessee.

Tennessee intercepted defensive signals

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reports that Tennessee was able to steal Cal’s defensive signals, enabling their offense to dismantle defensive plays with greater ease.

Tennessee receivers coach Trooper Taylor said the Bears also made the Volunteers’ jobs easier. Taylor said the Volunteers were able to pick up California’s defensive signals from the coaches’ box and relay the signals to the sideline. So sometimes, Ainge knew what defense he was going to face before he even stepped to the line of scrimmage.

This doesn’t explain the missed tackles, but Tennessee’s use of this tactic helps to shine some light on their ability to exploit our defensive schemes. I hope the coaches address this espionage and learn to conceal the signals in future games.

Cal at Tennessee is a Saturday storyline

Marshawn Lynch is on the home page of ESPN.com in a nice banner that also includes stars like QB Brady Quinn (Notre Dame), QB Drew Weatherford (Florida State), and WR Ted Ginn Jr. (Ohio State).

ESPN.com‘s Chris Fowler also has a lot to say about Saturday’s matchup:

But let’s see what happens Saturday. Cal is a trendy pick to win the Pac-10 (and that cutting edge Lee Corso has the Bears winning the national title!). But can the Bears get out of Rocky Top intact? They are slight underdogs against a Tennessee team coming off a dismal 5-6 year. Why? Home field, of course. But is the power of Rocky Top being hugely overrated?

About home field advantage:

… The fact is, home field often is vastly overrated. When a huge, hostile crowd is cheering on a great team, it’s hard for visitors to win. When the same crowd is cheering for a merely decent home team, upsets happen all the time.

… The point is, home field is overrated when it comes to a collision of quality teams.

Some questions and analysis about the game for each team:

Now, can Tennessee reclaim Neyland Stadium this year, starting Saturday night? A win would be a huge springboard for a team that certainly will rebound from the unthinkable 2005. A seventh straight home loss to a top-10 team would really sting. The key matchup is Tennessee’s rebuilt but veteran defensive line versus Cal’s rebuilt defensive line. Combined, the Vols’ group has 10 career sacks. These are solid guys, but can they be disruptive playmakers and “War-Daddy” run stuffers against hypertalented Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett? Cal’s blockers consist of three sophomore starters who will get a baptism to the big-time. How well will they handle the noise and confusion of opening night, protect Nate Longshore and open holes? Quick drops can help mask an overmatched line, but for how long?

About Tennessee’s quarterback and new offensive coordinator:

More attention on Rocky Top has been focused on the effect David Cutcliffe’s return as offensive coordinator will have on QB Erik Ainge. In the six years Cutcliffe called the plays at UT, the Vols averaged more than 30 points each year, with Peyton Manning and Tee Martin under center. Last year’s team scored fewer than 19 per game. Expect the average to be closer to 30 than 19 this year. The Vols will be fine. Corso might need a Plan B for Glendale by 9 p.m. Saturday.

And finally, some general praise for the coaches:

Fun with Corso aside, I want to salute what Jeff Tedford and defensive coordinator Bob Gregory have done at Cal. Before they got there, don’t forget, the Bears were awful. Eight straight losing seasons, bottoming out with a 1-10 debacle in 2001 that featured six losses by 27 or more points. The Bears took beatings from UCLA (by 39) and Oregon (by 41). Under Tedford, Cal has reeled off four straight winning seasons, averaging more than eight wins per. If this kind of astounding reversal had been engineered at a more visible program, Tedford would be much more fully appreciated as the absolute top-tier coach he is. That kind of national wake-up call is what can be achieved Saturday night.

Longshore back, starters may be named

Quarterback Nate Longshore was limited Saturday, but returned 100% practice yesterday (Monday) after missing 3 days of practice due to a “disk problem that inflamed a nerve”. Jay Heater of the Contra Costa Times says:

Longshore not only practiced, but he looked very sharp. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if he is named the starter. He threw some rockets on Monday. You can bet he is making the trip [to Tennessee].

Additionally, Coach Jeff Tedford is saying that he will “probably” make an announcement today naming the starting quarterback who will get “65 to 70%” of the practice repetitions. However, he still maintains that he is likely to play both Longshore and Joe Ayoob at Tennessee.

In addition to quarterback, Tedford is expected to name starters in other positions (right guard, cornerback, rover) today as well.

New secondary to be ‘tested’ by Tennessee

The Contra Costa Times has a nice article pointing out that Cal has three first-time starters in the defensive secondary, guessing that Tennessee will likely go after them instead of running the ball into the highly rated defensive line. While the safety/rover positions were known to need to be filled, the season-ending injury of Tim Mixon was unexpected.

Projected starters: Thomas DeCoud (safety), Brandon Hampton (rover),
Daymeion Hughes (cornerback), Syd’Quan Thompson (cornerback)

However, the Oakland Tribune writes about the confidence and potential of Syd’Quan Thompson, a redshirt freshman cornerback who was a big-time recruit. Although he hasn’t been named the starter for Tennessee to replace Mixon, all signs point to him as the man.

Personnel notes

The Contra Costa Times has a few notes on the current playing positions. Bryan Deemer is looking to have the edge for starting at offensive right guard (in front of Norris Malele, Brian De La Puente, and Duke transfer Tyler Krieg). Walk-on quarterback Bryan Van Meter is the third string quarterback flying to Tennessee in place of suspended Steve Levy, instead of the expected Kyle Reed. And, defensive back Virdell Larkens (cousin of Marshawn Lynch and Robert Jordan) is transferring to Laney College due to a lack of playing time.

Mixon out for the season with torn ACL

Bad news: cornerback Tim Mixon tore his ACL during Thursday’s scrimmage and he is out for the season. This is a huge blow to the defensive secondary and punt return game, but hopefully senior Randy Bundy or redshirt freshman Syd’Quan Thompson will be able to fill in for him.

First scrimmage highlights

The team has posted about highlights from today’s scrimmage, the first of fall camp. Both DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins returned kicks for touchdowns, hopefully indicative of their explosive abilities and not a lacking coverage unit.

All three quarterbacks appear to have performed well, but Coach Jeff Tedford stated that they still have to work to improve execution. On the defensive side of the ball, Rulon Davis (DE) made a big splash in his debut with 3 sacks and 5 tackles. Things look pretty good overall, but check the site for more details.

Training camp update: offense/defense shine

The team is making some good progress in fall camp. Yesterday, the fifth day of camp, both the offense and defense were making big plays. The quarterbacks (especially Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob) were connecting with their receivers (especially DeSean Jackson). Meanwhile, the defense also shined. See Cal’s report here. They also have some quotes here.

These practices are closed to the public, but there will be an open one on August 26.

Rivals names 10 Cal players on All-Pac 10 Team

Rivals.com has named its pre-season all-conference team for the Pac-10. While USC has 6 selections on the first-team, Cal has the most overall with 10 players.

On the first-team offense is Marshawn Lynch (RB), while the first-team defense includes Brandon Mebane (DT), Desmond Bishop (LB), and Daymeion Hughes (CB). DeSean Jackson (WR) is a second-team offense selection while Nu’u Tafisi (DE), Matt Malele (DT), Anthony Felder (LB), and Tim Mixon (CB) rounded out the defense. Mixon was also selected as the second-team punt-returner.

That’s seven defensive players on the list, some of whom are not guaranteed to start, giving you an idea how dominating the defense should be.