Daily Cal: ESPN Analyst Picks Bears to Win BCS

BY Brian Bainum and Stephen Chen

Daily Cal Staff Writers

 

• Not surprisingly, the No. 9 Cal football team seems to be taking Lee Corso's national championship prediction with a grain of salt.  Corso, an ESPN analyst, picked the Bears to beat West Virginia in the BCS championship game during a broadcast Saturday.  "It's nice that he said that," Tedford said. "But it really means nothing. We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of tough teams on our schedule starting with this week."  Quarterback Nate Longshore said he saw Corso's pick in his room at the Claremont Hotel, the team's training camp residence, with roommate Tyson Alualu.  "I was kind of shocked, to be honest," Longshore said. "Nobody has stuck their neck out for us before.  "I turned to Tyson and said, 'We better get productive tomorrow.'"  Joe Ayoob took a more lighthearted approach to the news.  "I like Lee Corso," he said. "Always have."

 

• When Longshore was a senior at Canyon High in Canyon Country, Calif., he played his only game using the spread offense. That same year, however, Longshore attended a camp with current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger when Roethlisberger was attending Miami (Ohio), which also featured a spread offense.  Longshore said he was pretty excited when he heard the Bears were implementing the spread.  "Whenever I play video games, I always choose the spread offense," he said. "There are a lot of opportunities you can take advantage of when you're in the spread."  Whereas Longshore is still becoming accustomed to the new set, Ayoob ran it each of his two years at City College of San Francisco.

"(Ayoob's) definitely familiar with it," Longshore said. "You can tell he's done it before. I've had a few questions and gone to him, and he's been more than willing to help."

 

• The Bears have been practicing with several large speakers on the field to help players prepare for the noise coming from the over-105,000 fans expected at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.  Although Tedford said the speakers are so loud that you can't hear anything on the field, the Bears know that the actual environment cannot be replicated.  "Honestly, after going through that USC game with 90,000 fans down there (in 2004), you can't simulate that type of noise," Longshore said. "When you're there you can't even believe how loud it is. You can throw as many speakers you want, but when they have their fans going, I'm sure it'll be a new kind of noise for us."  Not all the fans will be rooting against the blue and gold, however. The Cal ticketing office has sold around 5,000 tickets for the game, which is just short of the maximum allotment given to the Bears. Cal has since returned the extra tickets.

 

• Tedford announced the majority of his starters for the opener, although question marks remain at several positions.  Scott Smith and Bryan Deemer should make up the right side of the offensive line. Alex Mack will get the start at center, with Erik Robertson and Andrew Cameron protecting the quarterback's blindside from the left.  Tedford said Norris Malele may start instead of Deemer at right guard.  At the skill positions, there were no surprises as DeSean Jackson, Robert Jordan and Lavelle Hawkins were all given the nod at wide receiver. Byron Storer and Marshawn Lynch will occupy the backfield and Craig Stevens will begin the game at tight end.  On defense, Syd'Quan Thompson or Randy Bundy will replace the injured Tim Mixon at cornerback across from Daymeion Hughes. Thomas DeCoud and Brandon Hampton comprise the rest of the defensive backfield.  Tedford hasn't decided on whether Mickey Pimentel or Justin Moye will start at one of the linebacker spots. The other two linebackers will be Desmond Bishop and Worrell Williams.  The defensive line, arguably the deepest unit of the defense, will be composed of Matthew Malele and Brandon Mebane on the inside and Abu Ma'afala and Nu'u Tafisi on the ends.

 

• Though the Bears may be traveling across the country to get to Neyland Stadium, the team will not try to adjust to Eastern Standard Time.  "We are just going to stay on West Coast time," Tedford said. "We'll do everything the same and treat it like it is a 2:30 start out here."  That means Cal will not wake up until 10 a.m. in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday morning. Friday evening the Bears will have a walk-through at the 104,047 capacity stadium at 5:30 EST, exactly 24 hours before the game.  "We'll be able to find out all the situations at game time, as far as the sun and all the other normal things we look at," Tedford said.

 

• Defensive end Phillip Mbakogu will miss Saturday's game due to his continuing recovery from surgery on his left knee over the offseason.  "He could be one-to-three weeks," Tedford said. "He had some injections and lubricants in there. They need to see how that plays out."