Oakland Tribune: Can the Bears' runners keep up with Trojans?

Confident Cal, USC among nation's top ground attacks

By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER 

BERKELEY — Let's be real, USC lovers. You know your awesome Trojans can be beaten. Hey, the Indianapolis Colts could give them a good game.  OK, on a serious note, how does anyone conquer the top-ranked Trojans (9-0, 6-0 Pac-10), including a struggling Cal (6-3, 3-3) team?  Well, for starters, it's essential to win the time-of-possession battle against the men of Troy by running the football. That way, USC's unearthly offense is kept off the field.  Cal has just such a running attack to accomplish that end Saturday, even though the Bears have lost three of their past four games.  For all the national exposure accorded Reggie Bush and LenDale White, USC's dynamic duo, another 1-2 punch on the West Coast strikes almost as much fear: Cal's Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett.  "We feel we have the best corps of running backs," said Forsett, promoting himself, Lynch, Marcus  O'Keith and Terrell Williams. "We go out every game and play as hard as we can. We don't get caught up looking at other teams.""I feel the same way as Justin," Lynch said. "I respect every running back. They all got something different. I try to take a little piece from all of them and put it in my package.

"But that running back from Wisconsin who wears No.2 (Brian Calhoun), I like him."  There's no running back as scary as Bush, the 6-foot, 200-pound junior who has rushed for 1,022 yards (8.3 per carry) and 11 touchdowns. He has two touchdown catches and a punt return for a score. What separates Bush is that he can hurt you in so many ways.  And there's no better backup tailback than White, the thundering 6-2, 235-pound junior who has rushed for 913 yards (6.5 average) and 14 touchdowns, plus another score on a reception.  The only difference between Bush and White: Bush has the edge in the Heisman Trophy race.  Cal is ranked eighth nationally in rushing to USC's sixth. Trojans coach Pete Carroll is highly impressed with Lynch and Forsett.  "Marshawn is a terrific football player," he said. "Really hard to tackle, plays with great intensity, has very good hands, is a solid blocker. A clean tackle hits him, and it doesn't factor in. They just bounce off him, and he keeps running.  "And you can't forget Forsett's 8 yards a carry. You can't do much better than that. He tore it up in the early part of the season. He hasn't had the biggest numbers lately, but he's still consistent and a big factor whenever he's in the game."

The 5-11, 215-pound Lynch, a sophomore, has run for 842 yards (6.2) and six touchdowns while missing the equivalent of three games because of injuries, fumble-itis and a suspension. He had a career day last week at Oregon with 189 rushing yards, highlighted by a 52-yard scoring burst.  While Lynch was sidelined, Forsett scooted for 187 yards against Illinois and 235 yards against New Mexico State. The 5-8, 180-pound sophomore has rushed for 899 yards (8.0) and five touchdowns.  "We are different backs," Lynch said of possible comparisons with Bush and White. "But we make big plays."  USC is a 19-point favorite for Saturday's regionally televised game. But Cal has hung tough with the Trojans the past three years, beating them once. The Bears had a 100-yard rusher in each game.  "We've got to be perfect in every aspect in this game," Forsett said. "The running game is definitely going to be important. With me and Marshawn, we have a chemistry together. We feed off each other in a game."  Just like Bush and White.  "The atmosphere Saturday is going to be exciting," Forsett said. "I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun out there. A national stage, two good teams going against each other, a rivalry."  "But every game is a big stage," Lynch said. "I play the same way against everybody."  Lynch hasn't yet played a full season as a starter.  "He's getting back to 100 percent. The (left) hand still bothers him to where he's apprehensive warding people off," Tedford said of Lynch's mending little finger, no longer broken. "He ran physical last week, ran harder. If you give him holes, he's going to be successful."  Reggie Bush successful? Lynch is a versatile athlete, too.  "Marshawn definitely has the potential to do a lot of that stuff," said Tedford.  Saturday's game would be the perfect showcase.