ANG Newspapers: Mixon's return was Cal's big play

By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER 

BERKELEY — Cal coach Jeff Tedford reviewed Saturday's second-half positives for his football team and singled out one.  "Tim Mixon's punt return really sparked us," he said.  Mixon's 79-yard touchdown runback gave Cal a needed 28-17 cushion en route to the Golden Bears' 35-20 victory over Illinois.  Mixon had three punt returns for 101 yards. An earlier 17-yard return helped put Cal ahead for good, 21-17 in the third quarter.  But it was his 79-yarder that was of highlight-film quality. He split two tacklers, broke a shoulder tackle, cut to the sideline and outran everyone to the end zone.  "I looked at our gunners," Mixon said of the two Cal players who were blocking against Illinois' downfield pursuit men. "If they get a good jam, I knew I could split them. After I passed the first two guys, I knew I was going to score. As an athlete, you have to gamble. I gambled, and from there, my instincts took over."

ILLINI INSIGHT: Illinois coach Ron Zook was complimentary of 15th-ranked Cal after the Bears' second-half surge.  "I told our football team they should realize that they played against one of the top teams in the country," Zook said. "Cal is a good football team. They did a great job coming back.  "In the second half, we focused on trying to win the game instead of our goal of playing as hard as we could play.  We felt good at halftime. We felt we had them on the ropes. But Cal made big plays.  "I think we can get in there and compete in the Big Ten. But our guys have to believe."  Illinois hosts Michigan State, fresh off a win over Notre Dame, Saturday in Champaign. Cal plays at New Mexico State on Friday.

BEAR TRACKS: Late in Saturday's game, Tedford replaced kicker David Lonie with Tom Schneider on kickoffs. "We just weren't getting the depth on our kicks," Tedford explained. "They were starting to field the ball toward the 10-yard line, and we can't have that." ... Saturday's attendance of 57,653 marked the seventh straight game that Cal has drawn at least 50,000 fans. ...Freshman linebacker Anthony Felder made his first start for Cal and had eight tackles, third behind Desmond Bishop (11) and Donnie McCleskey (10). ...Cal had three sacks: by freshman Zack Follett, Brandon Mebane and Nu'u Tafisi. ... Justin Forsett's 187 yards on the ground marked Cal's 15th straight game with a 100-yard rusher.