PERFECT SEASON GONE, BUT NOT OTHER GOALS
By Jay Heater
So what's wrong with the Cal football team? Considering that the team is only a little more than three years removed from a 1-10 season, it seems illogical to ask such a question about a 5-1 team that's ranked No. 18 in the nation. But Coach Jeff Tedford has changed the landscape of Cal football, and along with that, his fans' expectations. After a heartbreaking 47-40 loss Saturday at UCLA, it appears that the Golden Bears might not be a match for No. 1 USC. They could even struggle against some of the other top Pacific-10 Conference teams. They could fall all the way to 8-3 or even 7-4. How could Cal fans stand it? Cal senior free safety Harrison Smith said he doesn't mind if the fans are a bit disappointed that the team isn't undefeated. ``We have high expectations ourselves,'' Smith said. ``We expect to win games. Our fans should expect the same thing. ``Part of the issue with the old program was that we didn't expect that from ourselves, and no one else did, either.'' Smith said that the UCLA loss hasn't stopped the Bears, who lost a bevy of starters from last season's 10-2 team, from seeking lofty goals. ``The first thing Coach Tedford said to us was that all it means is that we won't have an undefeated season,'' Smith said. ``We can still achieve all our other goals.'' Tedford knows that his team is playing under a microscope these days, but he's OK with it. ``I don't really notice it, but I'm not oblivious to it,'' Tedford said. ``The way we prepare and coach is the same anyway. We do our best and we prepare long, hard hours. That hasn't changed.'' A few things will have to change if Cal stands any chance of making a run for the conference title. The two biggest concerns appear to be whether quarterback Joe Ayoob can improve enough to carry the team when things bog down and if the special teams will continue to self-destruct at inopportune moments. Tedford said that Ayoob should more than hold his own during the second half of the season. ``Joe is making great strides,'' Tedford said. ``He is settling in nicely. He is throwing more accurately, and each week he is making tremendous progress in understanding the speed of the game.'' For a guy playing his first season of Division I-A football, Ayoob hasn't done poorly. He has completed 74 of 135 passes for 1,028 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has thrown only three interceptions. However, Cal might have the most speed it has ever had at wide receiver in sophomores Robert Jordan and Lavelle Hawkins and freshman DeSean Jackson. The Bears have yet to show they can stretch defenses by hitting on long passes.
That might be a bit picky considering that Cal has scored 40.2 points a game and rolled up an average of 473 yards per contest. ``I think we've done OK,'' Ayoob said. ``But we still have a little ways to go. I feel more comfortable now, but I know there still are things I need to do.'' Running the football has paved the way to most of Cal's success. The team's 271 yards per game would be a school record if it continues. Sophomore tailbacks Marshawn Lynch (108.8 yards per game) and Justin Forsett (123) are averaging more than 100 yards per game each. Tedford said he doesn't care if his offense isn't balanced if his running attack can continue to dominate opponents. It would seem likely, though, that improvement in the passing game will be key to continued rushing success. ``We have to put all aspects of our game into complete harmony,'' Cal tackle Scott Smith said. ``If we can do that, we will be unbeatable.'' Hindering that effort is the fact that Cal keeps losing starters to injury. Quarterback Nate Longshore (broken leg), wide receiver Noah Smith (broken leg) and left tackle Andrew Cameron (knee) are all lost for the season.
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