CAL FOOTBALL COACH Jeff Tedford first heard the news three years ago from former Bears athletic director Steve Gladstone and Dan Coonan, then one of Gladstone's top assistants. Coonan, now Santa Clara's athletic director, and Gladstone told Tedford his team was going to open its 2006 season on the road against the University of Tennessee. Great news, right? A chance to give Cal's football program national television exposure. A chance to face an SEC powerhouse and play in front of over 104,000 fans at Neyland Stadium. A chance for a big payday.
Tedford's reaction? "Well," Tedford said Thursday, smiling and pausing to think during the annual Bay Area college football media day. "I had my concerns about it. Only that we were playing Tennessee and Minnesota. "I'm not sure to play Tennessee and Minnesota in the same year, any combination of those type of (nonconference) teams, that you want to live on year after year after year. I think this is a team that can hopefully handle that challenge." This Cal team could turn out to be Tedford's best since he came to Berkeley in 2002. No less than five college football preview publications ranked Cal as a top-10 team. So, as far as timing goes, this is probably the perfect season for Cal to play Tennessee on the road.
Unfortunately for the Bears, this is not the perfect season to open the season at Tennessee. Especially not with a home game against Minnesota on tap in Week 2. This season begs for a home opener against Portland State, Cal's third foe, or Sacramento State or Prairie View A&M. Any creampuff would do. Because as immense as Cal's potential is, the Bears face three crucial issues on offense. And they'll have to deal with them quickly under some dire conditions. For a Cal team with national championship and BCS bowl dreams, an early stumble or two could be fatal.
Let's take these issues one at a time.
• When the Bears open the season in Knoxville, Nate Longshore will likely start at quarterback. Longshore has started one game at Cal, last year's opener against Sacramento State. He broke his left leg in the second quarter, ending his season.
Longshore will likely "ease" back into action on one of college football's most intimidating stages. "I think Nate will be fine," Tedford said. "One of Nate's strong suits is his mental toughness and preparation. "He's going to go in with confidence if he's the guy." If he's the guy? Longshore sounds like the only viable option to start against Tennessee. Steve Levy, who started Cal's final two games last year, was suspended for the Tennessee game in the wake of his offseason arrest after a bar fight. Joe Ayoob started eight games last year but lost his job to Levy. Tedford said Ayoob looked good in spring practice. That doesn't mean his battered psyche is ready for a road game at Tennessee. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Reed is physically gifted but "still learning" the offense, Tedford said. That leaves Longshore. "If Nate winds up being the starter the first game, will there be a transition period?" Tedford asked. "Absolutely."
• Cal lost three senior starters on its offensive line: tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, center Marvin Philip and guard Aaron Merz. All three were taken in the NFL draft. Yes, this is a huge deal. It takes time for an offensive line to mesh. And replacing these linemen, in particular, won't be easy. "The offensive line situation is going to be a key focus in camp," Tedford said. "Losing those three guys, they played a lot of games for us. Very big and powerful guys. "There is going to be a learning curve there. We feel we're talented there. We feel we're athletic there." But will the Bears' revamped line be ready to keep Longshore standing and ready to open holes for Marshawn Lynch against Tennessee?
• Tedford hired former Northwestern offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar to add the "spread" offense to his playbook, giving him another weapon to go with his pro-style attack. The Bears' offense spent most of its time in spring practice practicing the new scheme, which typically features the shotgun and four receivers. Even so, it would be naive to think the Bears will come out of the shoot at Tennessee running the spread offense to perfection. There's also the danger that Cal could lose some of its precision in its two-back, pro style scheme. "I felt it was one more piece of the puzzle that would make us hard to defend," Tedford said of the spread offense. "We don't want to spread ourselves too thin where we're not efficient in what we're doing." With Tennessee and Minnesota looming, that might prove fatal.
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