Oakland Tribune: SMELLING THE ROSES

Cal Bears approach coming football season full of hope

By Dave Newhouse

BERKELEY — Roses haven't smelled this fragrantly in August to a Cal football team in 31 years, or Chuck Muncie's last hurrah in Strawberry Canyon.  Those 1975 Golden Bears, led by the dazzling Muncie, came oh so close to the Rose Bowl, that elusive bid Cal has been chasing now for 48 years.  The 2006 Golden Bears have a golden opportunity to get back to Pasadena on New Year's Day, for this could be Jeff Tedford's best team yet at Cal. And running back Marshawn Lynch is the closest thing to Muncie since, well, Muncie.  Tedford is beginning his fifth season in Berkeley after crafting one of the best, if not the best, rebuilding jobs in college football this century. The Bears report for fall camp today, then start practicing Monday.  Tedford took over a 1-10 team and quickly turned failure into success. His Bears have been 7-5, 8-6, 10-2 and 8-4, and have won two of three bowl appearances. But this year's expectations for Cal are practically USC-ish.  Cal has received five top-10predictions from preseason outlets, ranging from sixth (Street & Smith) to ninth. In the media's Pac-10 poll, USC is picked to finish first ahead of Cal (269 points to 247).

And four Bears have been named as preseason first-team All-Americans: Lynch, defensive lineman Brandon Mebane, linebacker Desmond Bishop and cornerback Daymeion Hughes.  That's normal for USC but heady stuff for Cal, which seems a viable Rose Bowl candidate now that Reggie Bush, LenDale White and Matt Leinart no longer play for USC, and Drew Olson and Maurice Drew have left UCLA.  Tedford will learn a great deal about his team right away as the Bears open against Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, Sept.2. Minnesota, another solid opponent, comes to Berkeley the following week.  Cal will play seven games at home. All 12 could be televised, as the 2005 Bears were on TV all but once. A record sale of 40,000-plus season tickets is projected, as interest in Tedford's program escalates.  But Cal isn't a finished football product by any means. In fact, the 2004 Bears, ranked fourth in the country at one point, had a more complete look entering the season.  

Here are Cal's five biggest question marks heading into two-a-days:

1. Quarterback: Nate Longshore looks to be No.1 now that Steve Levy, who saved the 2005 season, has been suspended for the Tennessee game because of a bar-room incident. Longshore was ahead of Joe Ayoob in spring practice, although Ayoob started nine games last fall.  However, Longshore, who broke his ankle in the season opener a year ago, hasn't played a full game yet at Cal. So how will he perform, if he holds off Ayoob in fall camp, in his first prime-time TV appearance before 107,000 in Knoxville? If he comes through, Cal should live up to its preseason billing.  If he fails, Cal could fall off the radar.

2. Hybrid offense: Tedford looked to jolt his game plans, so he hired Mike Dunbar from Northwestern as the new offensive coordinator. Dunbar won't be a figurehead like his predecessor, George Cortez, because Cal's offense has turned into a two-headed monster.  Tedford is gambling on a hybrid offense — part shotgun, part Pro T. There are two question marks: Can Cal come out of the chute with its dual offense running smoothly, especially with a rebuilt offensive line? And is the slow-footed Longshore best-suited for an offense that's designed for a quarterback who can move?

3. Marshawn Lynch: If Lynch plays like Muncie in'75, Cal will be feared. Lynch was a backup to All-American J.J. Arrington as a freshman. Because of a hand injury, a suspension and some fumbling, Lynch didn't quite live up to sophomore expectations.  Now a junior, Lynch is primed for a spectacular season. With his Paytonesque running style and sprinter's speed, the Oakland Tech product could tilt the field in Cal's favor. Cal hasn't ever had a Heisman Trophy winner (Muncie finished No.2), but Lynch could be that man.

4. Pass rush: Cal couldn't replace All-American defensive end Ryan Riddle last year, and it showed in a lack of pass rush. The Bears had 32 sacks compared to 37 — 13 solos by Riddle — the year before. Nine sacks last year came against a weak Stanford offense.  Cal can't continue to burden its secondary by failing to get to the quarterback. The Bears need someone like Riddle or another All-American pass rusher, like Andre Carter, to create havoc on the outside. Junior Phillip Mbakogu has that kind of potential, though he missed spring practice with various injuries. Cal's coaches also are counting on junior college transfer Rulon Jones, a military veteran with size and speed.

5. Shutdown corners: OK, Cal hasn't yet seen its new punter, Andrew Larson, but that's minor compared to the Bears senior cornerbacks, Hughes and Tim Mixon. Hughes is pegged as first-team All-America, and Mixon made one preseason second-team All-America team. But they aren't shutdown corners, which they must become for Cal to make it to the Rose Bowl.  Cal rarely has shutdown corners, Deltha O'Neal being the exception. Hughes and Mixon are solid, but they're beaten deep too often. There's new depth at corner with redshirt freshmen Robert Peele and Syd'Quan Thompson, two talented prospects. We'll see.