GREG BEACHAM
BERKELEY, Calif. - After losing their No. 9 ranking and a little chunk of their confidence in a season-opening loss at Tennessee, the California Golden Bears don't get a chance to relax in their home opener. Minnesota, a Big Ten contender with one of the nation's strongest running games annually, visits Memorial Stadium on Saturday after pounding Kent State 44-0 in its opener. The Gophers are big, like most Midwest teams - even their starting running back, Alex Daniels, is a 260-pound converted linebacker. But the 22nd-ranked Bears mostly feel good about their defense, despite allowing over 500 yards in a 35-18 loss to the Volunteers in the season opener. They're more concerned with getting their offense on track after a dismal opener that crimped their plans for the season. "We're focusing in on doing what we need to do," said Cal quarterback Nate Longshore, who will make his second start of the season despite struggling in the opener. "We're all confident, and we understand games like last week are going to happen. We're going to have a target on our backs again this week, but we have high expectations." Cal might return to the run-dominated game plans of past seasons, when four different running backs rolled up 1,000-yard campaigns in each of Tedford's first four seasons. Marshawn Lynch, limited and hassled throughout the opener, has high hopes for the Bears' home debut.
"They've got a real great defense over there," Lynch said of the Gophers. "They like to get all over the field. We'll have to play our game to keep the ball moving." While the Bears' nonconference schedule has turned out to be tough, Minnesota hasn't played a ranked opponent outside the Big Ten since 1991. Both California's Jeff Tedford and Minnesota's Glen Mason apparently believe in ramping up slowly to a tough conference season, but both coaches don't have that luxury on Saturday. The Golden Bears booked these two season-opening games before Tedford's arrival, leaving the coach in a difficult situation. Mason has been criticized for the Gophers' soft schedule in the past while racking up 17 consecutive nonconference wins. He flatly disagrees with this notion, even after lining up Kent State - 1-10 last season - along with Temple, which went 0-11 in 2005, and Division I-AA North Dakota State this season. "I maintain more often than not that our schedule has been a lot tougher than most people's," Mason said. "I just do. I study it, and I know those teams and I know what's going on, and I know the difference between a have and a have-not." The Bears have it - depth, explosiveness and coaching that should make them a Pac-10 contender. But an 0-2 start in conference play would drop them out of the poll while definitely hurting their confidence.
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