Oakland Tribune: In 2 months, Stanford, Cal have flip-flopped

By Dave Newhouse
SAN FRANCISCO — Oh, how Stanford was laughed at, mocked and hammered from coast to coast after its unfathomable 20-17 loss to UC Davis on Sept. 17. That same day, unbeaten Cal rolled to its third straight victory, 35-20 over Illinois. So, projecting ahead, Cal would win the Big Game by, what, 56-13? Two months later, the Bay Area rivals have flip-flopped. Stanford, unbelievably, turned around its season. The Cardinal is 5-4, 4-3 Pac-10. And Cal is 6-4, 3-4 after dropping four of its last five games. Now it's Cal that desperately needs a turnaround. Though Cal is a 4-point pick Saturday, Stanford could be favored by that same margin, for it is the better team at the moment. As proof, Cal lost at home to Oregon State, while Stanford just beat the Beavers in Corvallis. Cal coach Jeff Tedford won't name a quarterback starter until later this week, he said at Monday's Big Game Media Luncheon at Patxi's Pizza.Thus it looks as if Joe Ayoob will be given another chance. Tedford's history is that if he makes a quarterback change, he makes it right away. He did add that backup Steve Levy will be given more repetitions in practice.
Four Cal seniors attended Monday's luncheon: center Marvin Philip, safety Donnie McCleskey, linebacker Ryan Foltz and fullback Chris Manderino. What was their reaction when Stanford was stunned by UC Davis? "It was hard to believe," Manderino said. "When you heard the news, it was surprising," Foltz said. "It was kind of disappointing," Philip said. "Stanford was in our conference." "I had no reaction," McCleskey said. "I don't care if I'm not playing. I didn't know about it until two weeks later." This same Cal foursome praised Stanford's remarkable rejuvenation under first-year coach Walt Harris. "That (defeat) turned around their season," Manderino said. "They've done an amazing turnaround." "Stuff like that happens," Foltz said of major upsets. "Since then, your hats are off to them." "To see them bounce back," Philip said, "it's great, even though we're rivals." "They're playing real well," McCleskey said. Now how does Cal produce a similar turnaround, for its season is coming apart? "We've got to bounce back, to come together as a team," Manderino said. "We haven't played up to our potential." "It's putting the team first," Foltz said. "You can only talk so much. It's doing it every day in practice this week." "We're kind of in a role reversal," said Philip, comparing Cal to Stanford. "They started weak and are finishing strong. We started strong, now we need to find the resolve to finish strong." "We want to put four quarters together," McCleskey said. "We can be a great team. Until then, we're a good team."
Cal's players have empathy for the struggling Ayoob. "There's no way you can put it on one player," Manderino said. "It's a team game. We're not going to point fingers at one person." "My main concern is the pressure (Ayoob) takes from fans and the media," Foltz said. "He is a 20-year-old kid who goes to Berkeley, who works hard, who lifts weights every day. He's a great guy. Everyone likes Joe." "As easy as it is to put the blame on Joe," Philip said, "we could all do better. I could have played better (against USC)." If Cal is to win the 108th Big Game, though, Ayoob must be what he hasn't been the last two weeks — accurate and confident. That's if he starts.