By BARRY KELLY
Monday, October 3, 2005
Welcome to October, boys and girls. Halloween is just around the corner and I've got less than four weeks to find a Jeff Tedford costume to wear during my trick-or-treating adventures. After a September of sun, sand and Sacramento State, this is the month when the Cal football team's schedule really starts to get scary, beginning Saturday with No. 20 UCLA. And with the flipping of the calendar, here come the ghouls and goblins, the ghosts of Pasadena past. The Bears haven't won at the Rose Bowl since 1999, and even if Joe Ayoob decides to dress up in purple velvet and grow his hair out all funny, there will still be naysayers who will continue to insist that this will not be the week Cal parties like the artist formally known as the artist formally known as Prince. Listen, and you'll hear them. Sure, they'll say, all that running and throwing to the sideline worked well against New Mexico State and Arizona, but the Bears will never beat the Bruins without a vertical passing game. Ayoob can't get it done, they'll say-even Aaron Rodgers lost in Pasadena. First, let me clarify that Cal did not lose on the road at UCLA in 2003. Tyler Fredrickson lost on the road against the Bruins in 2003, but that's another issue entirely.
Second, Ayoob and the Bears can get it done. Tedford said after Cal shut out the Wildcats that he blames the way the team practices for Ayoob's seeming discomfort with passing deep. During practice, the offense and the defense each occupy a side of the field at Memorial Stadium, meaning the offense can't really work on plays longer than 45 yards. Ayoob said he plans on doing extra work with his receivers this week after practices, when they will be able to use the full field. Furthermore, this is a team that is undefeated five games into the season, and I don't care who you're playing-5-0 is a hard record to reach. The Bears are ranked No. 10 in the country, despite playing the bulk of the season thus far without the quarterback and running back that started the first game of the year. This is a good team. Not necessarily a great team-that will come next year, I think-but a solid, winning football program. Cal faces its first test of 2005 on Saturday, and the Bears have the potential to pass with flying colors. Yes, UCLA has Maurice Drew, who can proudly say he is the third best running back-behind USC's Reggie Bush and LenDale White-in the City of Angels. Yes, the Bruins have Marcedes Lewis, one of the best tight ends currently enrolled in an institution of higher learning.
But Cal has Justin Forsett-not to mention Marshawn Lynch, healthy again after missing two-and-a-half games with a broken little finger-to easily offset Drew's production. The Bears have a plethora of young but talented wide receivers that can help bridge the gap between Lewis and Craig Stevens, Cal's starting tight end. If you need more proof that Saturday may not be the doomsday many are predicting, look no further than to UCLA's narrow victory over Washington two days ago. The Bruins won, 21-17, at the Rose Bowl to push their undefeated record to 4-0, but they trailed for all but the final 1:08 of the contest and Drew was limited to 33 measly yards on 14 carries.
The Bears, in contrast, crushed the Huskies, 56-17, in Seattle on Sept. 10, a day when Ayoob threw four touchdown passes in the first half and looked like he should start thinking about wearing a Rodgers costume for Halloween. But either way, come Saturday, we will find out for sure whether this Cal team is a trick or a treat.
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