KEN GOE
Just in case California needs extra motivation for Saturday's game with Minnesota, the Golden Bears can ruminate on the taunts that chased them out of Neyland Stadium after last week's 35-18 loss to Tennessee. After watching the Volunteers dominate en route to a 35-0 lead, Tennessee fans serenaded Cal with chants of "over-rated." Nashville columnist David Climer picked up on the theme. Climer wrote the Bears' defense was slow and that "Cal arrived as the most overrated team since Ben Affleck and J-Lo." Tennessee assistant coach Trooper Taylor told reporters that the Volunteers' bench deciphered the defensive signals coming to the Cal defense from the Bears' bench. Tennessee guard David Ligon told reporters that Cal defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, a first-team, all-Pacific-10 Conference selection last season, "quit."
The reviews coming from Cal's video sessions this week probably weren't kind, either. Cal receivers dropped eight catchable passes by one count, which might explain why quarterbacks Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob struggled. The Bears were in long-yardage situations so often that standout tailback Marshawn Lynch got just 12 carries. In a Tuesday news conference, Cal coach Jeff Tedford told reporters he hadn't been sleeping well this week on the makeshift bed he has in his office during football season. "I know the trash truck came at 4 this morning, if you want to know that," he said. The Bears, who fell from No. 9 to No. 22 in The Associated Press poll, need to put their problems behind them fast. If not, they could get embarrassed again, this time by the Gophers, who rushed for 322 yards last week in a 44-0 victory over Kent State. Minnesota tailback Alex Daniels, a 255-pound converted linebacker, ran for 155.
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