By MARK TUPPER - H&R Executive Sports Editor
CHAMPAIGN - By mid-afternoon on Sunday, coach Ron Zook had yet to look at films of Illinois' next football opponent, the 15th-ranked University of California. Maybe he was none too anxious to see the potent Cal offense that figures to test his defense to the max this week. Despite unexpected quarterback woes, Cal delivered an impressive 56-17 victory at Washington on Saturday as the Golden Bears rolled up 557 yards on the Huskies and its new coach, Tyrone Willingham.
One week after lamenting sloppy play and likely losing starting quarterback Nate Longshore for the season with a broken leg, Cal coach Jeff Tedford turned to backup QB Joe Ayoob and surgically attacked Washington's one-on-one pass coverage. Ayoob had gone 0-for-10 when he was sent in against Sacramento State after Longshore was injured. And his first pass Saturday against Washington was picked off. But Ayoob settled down in a hurry and finished with 17-for-27 for 217 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target was Robert Jordan, who finished with 11 catches for 192 yards and three touchdowns. The 56 points scored ties the school record for highest scoring output on the road.
Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch, who had run for 147 yards against Sacramento State, carried just five times against Washington before leaving the game with a dislocated knuckle on his left hand. But both he and Tedford said they expected Lynch to play against the Illini. After victories over Rutgers and San Jose State, is Illinois ready for such a significant step up in competition? "I think we made an awful lot of improvement from the first game, as we should," Zook said. "On defense, a large number of times we had five, six, seven guys at the ball. We were playing with a lot of emotion and energy. "We also made significant progress offensively. (Quarterback) Tim (Brasic) was much more relaxed. We ran the offense a lot smoother. We had some bad, bad plays right at the start, but after that we started playing pretty well. "No, we're not ready to face Cal yet. Obviously we're going to have to make as much improvement again this week. That's an awfully good football team but we're going to see what happens."
Zook also provided an injury update on Sunday. He said punter Steve Weatherford should be OK after spraining his left ankle when his first punt of the game was blocked. Weatherford continued to do the punting but turned the kickoff duties over to field goal kicker Jason Reda. "I'm very proud of the way Jason kicked off," Zook said. Reda also booted four field goals. Wide receiver Kendrick Jones is dealing with soreness in his foot that Zook said has been attributed to a condition called plantar fascitis. Reserve safety and special teams player Brian Brosnan is scheduled to undergo an MRI, which is expected to reveal an ACL injury that could end his season. Zook also said heralded freshman receiver Derrick McPhearson, who has yet to play as he bounces back from a broken leg, could see action at Cal. "We're going to see tomorrow," the coach said. "We're going to get him out there and run him through some individual drills and slowly but surely work him in and see what he can do." In the meantime, with Jones' health in question, Zook said freshman Kyle Hudson has likely earned more playing time at wide receiver. He led the Illini with 76 yards in receptions against San Jose State. "It's good to see Kyle get involved," Zook said. "We'll probably start seeing more of him."
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