Marin Independent Journal: Ayoob in good spirits

FROM the inner circle of Jeff Tedford's team, there was no doubt Nate Longshore should have been Cal's starting quarterback against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.  However, from the outside - the lunatic fringe - doubts about Longshore crept into Memorial Stadium before the game on Saturday like the fog and TBS' Craig Sager. Should there be any doubt now?

Should there be a $6 toll to cross the Golden Gate or any bridge? Of course not. "From my perspective, the fans should not doubt the coach's decision at all," said Joe Ayoob, the Bears' back-up quarterback from San Rafael. "Coach obviously knows what's going on with the team a lot better than they do. Nate came out and played excellent today. He made all the plays he needed to make."

After Longshore's first pass of the game was dropped by tight end Eric Beegun as if it was an anvil, the Cal sophomore quarterback completed 17 of his next 22 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 42-17 victory. That was much-needed bloody Mary, if you will, following the 35-18 hangover Tennessee gave Cal in Knoxville last week. Longshore finished with 22-for-31 for 300 yards. He ended any quarterback controversy at Cal. Is there any doubt? "No. Nate's our starter," Tedford said. Is it nice to finally say that? "Yes it is," Tedford said. For now. Lest we forget that Ayoob, in his first full game as Cal's starting QB last year, threw four touchdown passes in the first half at Washington. Then some of Ayoob's passes started going awry, like some of the homemade cookies on campus. Longshore's performance was indeed outstanding, but it came against the fifth or sixth best team in the Big 10, the likes of which on Saturday handily lost games to Rutgers, Ball State and Division I-AA New Hampshire. Minnesota might not be any better or worse than the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles, Hayden Fox's fictional team. What Longshore's calming effort brought to the Bears and their fans was relief after a week of reality check.

"I didn't have any doubt that he would," Tedford said. "I was really impressed with him. He threw the ball with a lot of confidence." Lavelle Hawkins caught nine of those passes for 125 yards. Though he played with Ayoob at City College of San Francisco, Hawkins endorsed Longshore as the starter. "He's got more confidence than all of us," Hawkins said. Longshore's only atrocious pass on Saturday was a bad overthrow to wide receiver Robert Jordan, who was wide-open in the middle of the field on a third-and-16 play in the first quarter. Longshore was a little lucky, too. Later in the same quarter, he sidestepped a Minnesota pass rush and hurled a long pass downfield. The pass should have been intercepted by Gophers safety Dominique Barber, who instead deflected the pass - right into the arms of Hawkins for a 42-yard gain.  What was encouraging on that play, though, was Longshore exhibited enough mobility and ability to elude a strong pass rush in the pocket and find open receivers. He showed poise under pressure.

Minnesota, however, didn't blitz much in the non-conference contest and didn't appear to have fast, tenacious pass rushers on the edge. That tactic will change once Bears enter Pac-10 play. That will provide a stiffer test for Longshore and his limited foot speed. "The learning curve is there and he's just going to get better every week," Tedford said. "He just needs to get used to the speed of the game." Meanwhile Ayoob, a star quarterback at Terra Linda High, must wait his turn, as third-stringer Steve Levy, the Cody Pickett of Cal. The only snaps Ayoob received on Saturday were from holding on six PAT attempts and taking a knee on the final play of the game to run out the clock. "Obviously I'm a little disappointed because you want to play (like anyone else)," Ayoob said. "But, when your starting quarterback plays like that, there's nothing you can do. I was behind him the whole way and he did a great job." Yet Longshore is honest and realistic to know his job as a starter could be fleeting as protests in Berkeley. One bad game or wrong move could put him back on the bench.

"It's more just about production now," Longshore said. "Whoever's the best guy to get that done from week to week will be the guy who's playing. I'm not really worried about starting. I don't go to practice thinking about that. I just need to get better and we need to improve and just go from there." The same goes for Ayoob. Tedford is a go-with-the-flow coach who gave Ayoob an opportunity to play at Tennessee. "Last week he said there was a good chance I might get in (against Minnesota)," Ayoob said. "I think they're going with Nate and I think I'm a good back-up to him. If he were to go down (injured) again, I think they'd have confidence in me to come in step in. He did a great job and there's nothing more you can say about it." On Saturday, Nate left no doubt.