QB Longshore is Pac-10 Player of the Week

QB Nate Longshore has been named Pac-10 player of the week for his impressive performance in Saturday’s game.

Longshore, a sophomore from Canyon Country, Calif., directed California to a 42-17 win against Minnesota. Longshore completed 22 of 31 passes (.710) for an even 300 yards and four touchdowns covering 24, 2, 48 and 11 yards, with no interceptions. The passing yardage and touchdown passes were both career highs for Longshore. The California offense piled up 31 first downs and 531 yards total offense against Minnesota.

Daymeion Hughes was also nominated for the award.

Bears redeemed in decisive victory over Minnesota

I predicted 41-28, but Cal exceeded expectations and soundly defeated the Gophers 42-17 last night.

The defense was notably improved. Redshirt freshman Syd’Quan Thompson found redemption with great coverage and several tackles, including one for a loss. Daymeion Hughes made two interceptions. Brandon Mebane and the defensive line did well facing Minnesota’s powerful offensive line and running attack. Mebane and Mickey Pimentel each had sacks, an impressive feat considering that Minnesota only allowed 3 sacks total last season and has gone 8 consecutive games without giving one up. Most of all, the defense made sound tackles.

On the offensive side of the ball, Nate Longshore lived up to his potential and emerged as the definite starting quarterback of the team. Completing 22 of 31 passes with 4 touchdowns and 300 yards, Longshore was able to lead the offense and execute sharply. The offense included both pro-set and spread plays, a hybrid that seemed effective to confuse Minnesota’s defense. The running game was powerful and effective as well, and the Marshawn Lynch / Justin Forsett duo pounded the Gophers into submission. The receivers also looked very good. Lavelle Hawkins gained serious yards (125) while DeSean Jackson was Longshore’s favorite for the endzone with 3 TD catches and 100+ yards also.

Special teams coverage needs some work, as they gave up a 99 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Both Andrew Larson on punts and Tom Schneider on kickoffs looked good.

There were a few stupid personal foul penalties that should have been avoided. Hopefully this is addressed by Coach Jeff Tedford.

The stadium was especially loud on Minnesota’s third down plays, causing at least two false starts.

Overall, the game was a great bounce back to winning form from last week. The Bears looked like what they should’ve one week earlier. They were confident, poised, and they executed brilliantly.

Longshore starting again against Minnesota

Coach Jeff Tedford has announced that Nate Longshore will start against Minnesota this Saturday with Joe Ayoob also getting some playing time, despite the “nightmare” opener at Tennessee.Tedford called the opener “about as bad as I could imagine it going” and also stated he “won’t abandon the elements of the spread offense that were incorporated into this season’s game plan by new offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar”, as “there was very little spread stuff that was used”. Let’s hope for some improvement in execution and a win next week.

Personnel notes

At Tennessee, starting tight end Craig Stevens was lost in the opening kickoff for the rest of the game. He suffered a concussion and his status for the Minnesota game on Saturday is not known.

Marshawn Lynch was slightly banged up in a kickoff return as well and he seemed bothered by it on the sidelines during the game despite playing on it. He now has a “sore ankle” but Coach Jeff Tedford says he “will be OK”.

The quarterback competition for starter re-opens during practice this week between Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob. Tedford says that backup quarterback Steve Levy, who was suspended for the season opener, is not in the competition and is “definitely” number 3 on the depth chart.

Longshore will start at Tennessee

It’s official. Nate Longshore will start at quarterback in front of Joe Ayoob on Saturday’s season-opening game at Tennessee. Coach Jeff Tedford said, “They’ve both had great camps, (but) somebody has got to take the first snap. It’s very possible they’ll both play. Nate has run the offense very well. There wasn’t a lot of difference between them, but Nate has been real consistent.”

Both quarterbacks are taking the news with class and humility.

Longshore: “Either way, I’m sure we’ll both play, and we just want to go out there and execute the offense. I’m excited. We’re jelling and we’re getting each other’s timing down. We’re figuring everything out, and it’s coming together at the right time.”

Ayoob: “If Nate comes out and goes 10-for-10, I don’t think I’ll go in. But my understanding is I’ll get some playing time, so we’ll see what happens. It’s not about who’s starting or not. It’s about winning games.”

You can also watch a video featuring Tedford’s announcement and statements from the quarterbacks. Thanks Sam W.

No QB named starter, but Longshore favored

Longshore or Ayoob?

Coach Jeff Tedford has still not named a starter at quarterback for the season opener at Tennessee. At today’s Pac-10 coaches teleconference, Tedford stated that the decision is likely to be “a game-time decision” between Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob.

Apparently, there was also some confusion caused by ESPN asking Marshawn Lynch about the starting situation, implying that Ayoob was to start.

However, according to an unofficial report from a respected insider at the conference, it “distinctly sounded like [Longshore] would start as he remained healthy today, although [Tedford] refused to be pinned down to announcing the starter today.”

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.

Both Longshore and Ayoob to play at Tennessee

It looks like Coach Jeff Tedford could not pick between quarterbacks Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob. Apparently, both have played comparably enough that neither has defined themself as the starter for sure. This article about Tennessee has this tidbit near the end:

Quarterback Nate Longshore didn’t practice Thursday because of a “twinge in his back,” Tedford said. The head coach then went against his one-quarterback philosophy by saying Longshore and Joe Ayoob will play at Tennessee. “Just to give them some experience, to see how they perform,” Tedford said. “They’re very close. Nobody has really separated themselves. Both have been productive.”

So, we’ll see both play on September 2.

Cal ‘underrated’ despite QB uncertainty

College Football News lists Cal as an “underrated” team in the polls. They write:

CFN writes: Cal is also a little underrated. Sure, they’ve still got a very questionable quarterback situation, but almost everything else on their roster looks great. They’ve got one of the best running backs in the country, plus a proven backup who’s also very good, they’ve got a great receiver corps, and their defense looks outstanding. I don’t get how anyone can justify having them outside their top 10 (and plenty of people did just that), and really they ought to be somewhere around #6 or #7. Vegas also has them at around 33:1 to win the national title, and around 3.5:1 to win the Pac-10. Both of those are significant bargains.

There’s also an article from the Associated Press detailing Coach Jeff Tedford‘s quarterback decision. They also have some photos of fall camp. Thanks Matt G.

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.