By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
LAS VEGAS — Joe Ayoob wants his detractors to know that their booing has strengthened his will, and that his own failings have made him even more determined to win back the Cal quarterback job next season. “I see myself being the starter," he said. "I started nine games this year. We were 5-4 in those games, and, realistically, with one play different in three of those games, we could have been 9-1. "But compared to what I'm used to, this season is not up to my standards. I look forward next year to being the guy, and going on the road to take on Tennessee in Knoxville (in the Sept. 2 opener)." Ayoob must first fight his way through three quarterbacks — Nate Longshore, Steve Levy and Kyle Reed — to reclaim the No. 1 job. It won't be easy, but after Ayoob's rocky debut, it'll be a breeze by comparison. "I have a feeling," he said, "that people think, 'He just can't do it at this level,' when I know I can. So it's kind of like a chip on my shoulder." A chip the size of a boulder.
Cal coach Jeff Tedford recruited Ayoob out of City College of San Francisco, where he was known as "the white Michael Vick," to lead the Bears to a bowl game. He led them most of the way, but it was Levy's quarterbacking against Stanford that sealed the Las Vegas Bowl bid. Ayoob will be a backup again Thursday as Levy leads Cal (7-4, 4-4 Pac-10) against BYU (6-5, 5-3 Mountain West) in Sam Boyd Stadium. "I thought football came so easily to me," Ayoob said. "This year, things didn't come as easy as they always had. This makes me want to come back and prove myself next year to everybody." To analyze his erratic season, Ayoob went all the way back to spring practice. He failed to beat out Longshore for the starting job, but took over after Longshore broke his leg in the Sacramento State opener. "When I first got here, it was learning the offense, learning new mechanics, getting to meet new people," Ayoob said. "It was all new things, making a lot of adjustments. "I got over that by the time the season came around. But you know what I think really hurt me was my first game. Right away, I got a bad taste in my mouth."
Stats against Sacramento State: 0-for-10. "I recovered after that," he said, "but it just seemed like it wasn't really always there." Ayoob's biggest game was the comeback win over Washington State. His low point, he said, was being pulled from the USC game. It all added up to 15 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions, a 49.2 completion percentage, and a demotion before the Big Game. "Throughout the whole year, coach Tedford was stressing my mechanics. I gotta do this, I gotta do that," he said. "I tried to work on them, but (Saturday) would come, and I couldn't get them to be second nature. And when you're thinking of how to throw the ball, by coming over the top, you're not just throwing the ball like I know I can, and you're bound to have problems." Problems on the field and in the stands. The booing was rough at times, and the comments his parents endured during games were also rough. But maybe not as rough as the hate mail Ayoob read on web sites. "I want to come out in front of my home fans and have them think, 'We're in good hands with this guy,'" he said. "But I would have rather played on the road. I'd rather have other fans boo me than at home (games). "Finally, I said, 'Screw all those people, just be yourself.' But that hasn't changed me. I'm still the same person. I haven't become bitter. It's not like I'm hoping for Steve to do bad." Will we see a different Ayoob in the autumn as a senior after a second spring practice and a second fall camp? "Sure, we will," he said. "My parents have all the game tapes. I'm hesitant to watch them, but over the (semester) break, I'll look at them. Kind of get a feel for everything. "I've seen a couple of the tapes, and I don't look the same. I know how I look when I can play like I know I can play. I feel I'll have a better perspective coming into next season." The booing hasn't taken the fight out of Ayoob, or the fighter.
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