Oakland Tribune: Ayoob shows Cal fans why Tedford likes him

QB at his best in leading Bears to rare rally to beat Washington St.

By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER 

BERKELEY — Jeff Tedford has done an amazing resurrection at Cal, inheriting a 1-10 team and elevating it to No.4 in the nation in 21/2 years.

But it took 46 games under Tedford's coaching for Cal to pull out a last-gasp win, Saturday night's 42-38 thriller over Washington State.  "We needed a win like that," said Tedford as he left Memorial Stadium after his team's emotional comeback gut check. Cal needed a win like that for several reasons. For starters, Cal usually is the victim of such late rallies, having lost four times that way, including once in overtime, in 2002, and then against UCLA two weeks ago. But Saturday's win showed the Bears that in spite of growing injuries and a highly suspect pass defense, and with a reputable bowl bid still a possibility, they finally demonstrated a never-say-die attitude. Cal tied the perfect ribbon around the whole evening when the embattled Joe Ayoob threw two touchdown passes in the last five minutes, including the 9-yard game-winner to Lavelle Hawkins with 1:50 left.

"Joe played very well," said Tedford. "The two interceptions that we had were tipped balls. But for him to hang in there and keep throwing strikes down the stretch, I'm real proud of the last few drives he put together." Tedford had encouraged Ayoob, the target of Old Blues' discontent, to be himself. That meant to play loose, don't be discouraged, and let the ball rip. Ayoob re-emerged as that quarterback Saturday. "He threw strikes on all those balls," Tedford said of Ayoob's fourth-quarter theatrics. "He is an unbelievable competitor, so mentally tough and physically tough." Ayoob's numbers: 19 of 35 for 274 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers could have been better, but he had several passes dropped.

"Washington State had a good second half, but we made the big play at the end," said Ayoob. "This is my first time for an exciting win like this (at Cal). LaReylle (Cunningham) really stepped up for the receivers today." Cunningham is a walk-on redshirt freshman from Fairfield. He hadn't caught a pass at Cal until facing Wazzu. With starting wideouts Robert Jordan and DeSean Jackson idled because of injuries, Cunningham had five receptions for 112 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown catch that preceded the game-winner to Hawkins. "I am just happy I could make the big play," said Cunningham. "I've been waiting my whole life for something like this." Hawkins, who complained last week that he had lost his "swagger," led Cal with eight receptions, for 71 yards. His 9-yard post-pattern touchdown catch of an Ayoob strike near the end was reminiscent of their time together at City College of San Francisco. And, oh, yes, Cal's erratic special teams had their best game in terms of coverage. Flashy Michael Bumpus had one return for 4 yards. A bye week comes at the perfect time for Cal (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10), giving the Bears a chance to heal before the Nov.8 game at Oregon (7-1, 4-1), and to work on their badly thrashed pass coverage. Washington State's Alex Brink threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns — three to Jason Hill, who had six catches for 240 yards (40.0 per catch), and toyed with Cal corners Tim Mixon and Daymeion Hughes.