By Brooks Hatch
They boarded the plane with sky-high expectations. They limped home in tatters after being thoroughly dominated for three quarters in an absolute blowout in which they surrendered 35 consecutive points, were awful offensively, and offered token defensive resistance. Their team, essentially, was a mess and the fan base was discouraged and preaching gloom-and-doom and demanding widespread changes in the starting lineup. We’re talking about Oregon State, right? No, the team in question is the California Golden Bears, who last Saturday rescued distraught Ol’ Blues off their collected ledges with a 42-17 rout of Minnesota at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
Coach Jeff Tedford sent out the exact same starters against Minnesota as he did in the 35-18 knockout in Knoxville. What was the difference? Against the Golden Gophers, they played up to their ability and weren’t burned by three or four big plays. “We didn’t play anything like we’re capable of at Tennessee,” Tedford said in a simple, yet spot-on, analysis. “We didn’t block or tackle, the fundamental things. “When (Tennessee) scores 21 points by throwing two hitch routes and breaking tackles on two long runs, that’s typically not the way things go, and we didn’t execute on offense.
“It was much more about what we didn’t do than what Tennessee did. (Against Minnesota) we told them to go out, relax, have fun and let ability take over.” Quarterback Nate Longshore was 11 for 20 for 85 yards and an interception against the Volunteers, who had something to prove after a 5-6 record in 2005. He was 22-for-31 for 300 yards and four touchdowns against the Golden Gophers. “The difference was he got a little protection and the receivers caught the ball when he put it on them,” instead of displaying the butterfingers that led to numerous drops at Tennessee, Tedford said. “Our team feels relieved that we were able to bounce back, do the things we were supposed to do, and regain some of the confidence we had” going into a season in which they were picked to contend for the Pac-10 championship and high national honors.
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