Saturday, September 17, 2005

Decauter Herald and Review: Cal QB will test Illini defense - maybe

By Mark Tupper   

BERKELEY, Calif. — After throwing six incompletions in a row to end the first half, then misfiring on four straight to open the second half, Joe Ayoob was yanked from the lineup in his quarterbacking relief appearance in California’s season-opener. His 0-for-10 performance became the kind of thing fans mumble about on sports talk radio and the phrase — “0-for-10” — became a nasty buzzword on the Bay Area, even though Cal defeated Sacramento State 41-3 despite losing starting quarterback Nate Longshore to a broken leg.

The day after the Sacramento State game, Ayoob was so disgusted he ripped off his jacket and tossed it at a chair in his parents’ home. The jacket missed the chair, and his father — who apparently has a pretty secure sense of humor — looked at his son and said, “Oh-for-11.” So when Cal coach Jeff Tedford announced that Ayoob would be his starter in Game 2 at Washington, the mumbling in the Cal football community grew louder. And when his first pass last Saturday was intercepted, the mumbling turned to all-out groans. After that, however, Ayoob showed why Tedford had such confidence in him. He finished the day completing 17 of 27 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, and suddenly the 15th-ranked Golden Bears appear to have a dangerous quarterback again. Today, Illinois’ defense will be tested against the arm of Ayoob, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder who was one of the nation’s top junior college quarterbacks at San Francisco Community College, where he threw 35 touchdown passes in 2004. “He was not flawless by any means, but he played fairly well last week against Washington,” Tedford said. “So much was made the week before of the            0-for-10 thing, then having his first pass intercepted, he did a pretty good job of hanging in there. It would have been easy for someone to fold their tent. “Instead, he did a pretty good job throwing the ball and getting the offense in and out of the huddle. He gets more and more comfortable with every snap. He has a lot of potential and a lot of ability. He’s a very good player.” Mark Tupper is the executive sports editor for the Decatur Herald & Review.

 

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