Cruise control
Rusty Simmons, Chronicle Staff Writer
"We need to keep our focus more, especially when we get a big lead," Cal senior cornerback Daymeion Hughes said. "We didn't continue to execute down the stretch. Other than that, we played a great game." It was the largest road crowd in school history for Division I-AA Portland State (2-1), which has had teams play in front of more than 50,000 five times. The noise didn't appear to affect the veteran group too much. They were simply outmatched by the Bears' speed, strength and depth. "Number one, they're probably as good as advertised on offense, because I think we're good on defense and they totally dismantled us," Portland State coach Tim Walsh said. "I don't think we played very well, but a lot of that probably had to do with them." It was the second consecutive dominating victory for No. 21 Cal (2-1), and with seven teams ranked higher than the Bears losing on "Separation Saturday," they stand to make a decent leap in the polls. Cal scored touchdowns on four consecutive first-half possessions and got a Hughes' interception return for another score in between drives to breeze to a 35-3 lead. The 42 first-half points were the most for the Bears since they scored 45 in the 2002 season-opener against Baylor.
Cal piled up 375 yards in the first half with a good mix of passing (225 yards) and rushing (150). After throwing an interception on his first attempt of the day, sophomore Nate Longshore didn't many other mistakes. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. "Nate was sharp, besides the first play, which gave him some coverage he hadn't seen," Tedford said. "He ran the offense very efficiently again." He distributed the ball pretty evenly between sophomore DeSean Jackson (five catches, 103 yards) and junior Robert Jordan (four receptions, 51 yards). Jackson, who caught a 27-yard scoring strike to give Cal a 42-16 lead with 24 seconds remaining in the first half, got into the end zone for the fifth consecutive game. Despite playing without starting left tackle Andrew Cameron (ankle) and Bryan Deemer (knee), who started at right guard in the season-opener, the Bears had plenty of running lanes. Marshawn Lynch averaged 18.7 yards a carry for 113 yards on six attempts, Marcus O'Keith ran eight times for 65 yards and Justin Forsett added a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
There wasn't much after that. Cal was limited to 127 offensive yards in the second half. Portland State's defense forced three turnovers to move its season total to 10 in only three games, but the unit's streak of not allowing a touchdown ended after two games. "You have to give them credit," Tedford said. "They have a big, physical defensive line, and they played hard." It also can be attributed, in part, to Cal's substitutions, which moved second- and third-stringers into the game as early as the second quarter. "Getting some of those guys in the game should help us down the line," Tedford said. "To be able to get them in game-time situations is very important, because it's much different than practice."
Portland State managed 26 yards on its first 14 offensive plays, and it was limited to two first downs and three points. It's difficult to rate the Cal defensive unit after the first quarter, because there were both first- and second-team defenders in the game for most of the final three quarters.
Maybe the most telling anecdote from Cal's defense was that it knocked the Vikings' first two quarterbacks out of the game in the first quarter. Still, Rob Freeman, who had not attempted a collegiate pass before Saturday, led two second-quarter touchdown drives. "My hat's off to Rob Freeman," Walsh said. "He's our third quarterback, playing against the Cal defense, and he made some good throws." The fans were around long enough to see that.
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