Jake Curtis, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, October 2, 2005
A half hour after rushing for 107 yards against Arizona, including one memorable 15-yard scamper of pure instinct, Marshawn Lynch gazed at his left hand while gently toying with the wad of tape that bound his ring finger to his pinkie.
He said his pinkie, which was broken three weeks ago against Washington and kept him out of the past two games, is "healing properly." It was his way of implying that it was not a major problem Saturday. He also said he couldn't carry the ball in that hand. "I was a little more focused before the game, because I knew I'd be playing one-handed," he said. Lynch put the ball into his left hand only once Saturday, slipping it in there briefly while trying to skirt the left end. "Maybe it was a blessing to play like that," he said, "just to know how much I need the other hand." Lynch was effective enough with one hand, collecting the fourth 100-yard game of his career and giving Cal a 100-yard rusher for the 17th straight game. He still is not the team's leading rusher, his average of 100 yards per game leaving him behind Justin Forsett, whose 74 yards Saturday dropped his average to 117 yards a game.
However, Lynch's presence provides Cal with a dynamo, a player who can make a 5-yard run seem to last for five minutes with all his twisting, turning, cutting back and struggling before finally being dropped to the earth. "I thought he played great," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "That one run where he reversed field, that was something." It was indeed something, although it's hard to explain exactly what it was. Late in the first half, starting from the Arizona 21-yard line, Lynch set sail around left end. Seeing that route blocked, he reversed field and ended up circling the right end for a 15-yard gain that put the Bears in position for their second touchdown. Coaches seldom condone such moves, which often result in big losses, but Tedford has no problem when Lynch tries it. "You've got to trust his judgment," Tedford said. "You're going to live with a couple that don't work out, but most of the time it does."
Lynch's explanation for reversing field? "I just reacted," he said. Being able to produce that kind of something-out-of-nothing play also makes coaches live with his occasional fumble, and Lynch had given the ball away on the previous Cal possession. Though he was carrying the ball in his right hand, it was the blow of an Arizona defender's helmet on his left hand that pushed the ball out. It also had Lynch shaking his tender left hand, putting him in considerable pain on the sideline. Lynch said it was only a brief problem. "It just rattled temporarily," he said. He also banged his knee late in the game, causing him to limp off. But that is not problem either. His only problem was an Arizona defense that was stacked to stop the run, and opponents will continue to do that as long as Cal's erratic passing game remains that way. Though Forsett showed during Lynch's absence and again Saturday how effective he can be with his darting speed, the Bears need a healthy Lynch and the gains he can produce. Next week, the Bears play at UCLA, which two weeks ago limited Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson to 58 rushing yards on 23 carries, a measly 2.5 yards per carry for last year's Heisman Trophy runner-up, whose style is similar to Lynch's. By next week, Lynch may be able to carry the ball in both hands again.
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