With Injuries Galore, Bears Attempt to Use Week Off to Recuperate
By BARRY KELLY
Daily Cal Staff Writer
Currently enjoying a bye in its schedule after eight straight weeks of football games, Cal seems to be welcoming the week off with open arms-that is, arms as open as the team's plague of injuries will allow. Six key players missed Saturday's victory over Washington State because of injuries. The Bears needed to score two touchdowns in the final 5:19 of the fourth quarter to squeak out a 42-38 win against the Cougars and avoid coach Jeff Tedford's first three-game losing streak in his Cal career. The No. 24 Bears, who will face consecutive ranked teams for the first time since 2002 when they travel to Oregon to face the No. 14 Ducks on Nov. 5 and return home the following week to host No. 1 USC, are thankful their bye week fell at this point in their season, sophomore wide receiver Robert Jordan said. "The bye is super crucial," said Jordan, who wore a red no-contact jersey at Tuesday's practice after spraining ligaments near his collarbone, an injury that prevented him from playing against WSU. "The bye came at a perfect time really, because we get all of our linemen back and all of our receivers back." Of Cal's plethora of injuries, Tedford said only two have been season-ending. "We should have most of them back," Tedford said after Wednesday's practice. "We've really tried to get healthy this week. I would hope and assume that we have most of our guys back for next week." The two players who will not return to the field, however, are quarterback Nate Longshore and left tackle Andrew Cameron. Longshore, who broke his left fibula in the first half of the Bears' first game of the year against Sacramento State, is expected to miss the rest of his redshirt freshman campaign, although Tedford said he has started to throw the ball at practice.
Tedford also said Cameron would have surgery today to repair his left ACL, an injury he incurred in the first half of Cal's win over Arizona. The game against the Wildcats was Cameron's first back after missing two in a row while recovering from a concussion he suffered against Washington in the second game of the season. Against the Huskies, right guard Aaron Merz also went down with a concussion. He joined Cameron on the sidelines for the following two games before returning to action against Arizona. Injuries to the offensive line continued to pile up in the Bears' affair with Oregon State, as right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan also suffered a concussion. Already coping with a broken wrist, O'Callaghan was listed as doubtful for Saturday's contest but did not play. "It's kind of ironic, because last year, the veterans on our team were the receivers and they got hurt," said Jordan, who was activated last year after Chase Lyman suffered a season-ending knee injury against USC. "This year, the veterans on our team are the o-linemen and they're all getting hurt. I don't know if it's like a trend or something like that, but everybody's hurt." In addition to Longshore and the offensive line, Cal's offense has been hit with injuries in other areas. Jordan's fellow starting receiver, DeSean Jackson, also missed Saturday's game with a sprained right shoulder. Sophomore Noah Smith has been out since the first game of the year with a broken leg. At tailback, sophomore Marshawn Lynch, the Bears' offensive centerpiece, broke the little finger of his left hand against Washington and missed two and a half games. He said he expects to have his cast off before the next game.
With other key players missing games on defense-most notably tackle Brandon Mebane and end Tosh Lupoi-Tedford said the number of injuries his players have suffered this season has been unusual. "Last year, we were really hit hard in one position, and that was the receiver position," said Tedford, who is in his fourth year at Cal. "This year, it's been a little bit of everywhere and probably more than we've had since we've been here, for sure."
Games Missed Due To Injury
MARSHAWN LYNCH: 2.5
ANDREW CAMERON: 4
NOAH SMITH: 7
NATE LONGSHORE: 7.5
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