(Thanks to Jim for this submittal)
California (5–1) at Washington State (4–2)
Game Time: Saturday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. PT
No matter what happened at Tennessee a month and a half ago, Cal has everyone’s undying respect now. The Golden Bears are a far superior team as they make their way through the Pac-10 schedule, coming off now as confident, explosive and out and out scary. Ask Arizona State and Oregon.
These guys journey to the barren, wheat fields of eastern Washington, seeking a sixth consecutive one-sided victory. It would appear that only history stands in their way. Cal hasn’t won in Pullman since 1979. That’s 0-for-9 in the Palouse country since the disco era.
“I know it's a hostile environment and I've already warned our kids about that,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “There are a lot of things said to them that aren't very nice. We have to make sure not to get into a sparring match that way.”
Even with altering the lineup a bit, with the Golden Bears forced to feed the ball more to back-up Justin Forsett instead of the gimpy Marshawn Lynch at tailback, they should run crop circles around Washington State.
Lynch basically has a flat tire, coming at the end of a 26-yard gainer against Oregon, when he was pulled down awkwardly from behind. The Pac-10’s rushing leader could be limited for some time. Forsett, nicknamed “Texas” because that’s where he hails from, looks healthy enough, coming off a 163-yard rushing effort.
So does quarterback Nate Longshore, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, cornerback Daymeion Hughes, linebacker Desmond Bishop and all the rest of a team considered Top 10 material if not worthy of knocking perennial favorite USC down a notch this season.
What the Golden Bears need to guard against is a loud and vociferous homecoming crowd that easily could swing momentum to the Cougars, as has been the case before in this series.
There’s also this little matter of sacks, something the Cal offensive line needs to address in a workmanlike manner. No team in the nation has more quarterback drops than WSU. It’s 27 and counting. Senior defensive end Mkristo Bruce is the country’s top individual sacker with 10. Senior linebacker Scott Davis picked up three alone last week at Oregon State, earning him Pac-10 defensive player of the week honors.
If the Cougars had more offensive firepower, this game would be worthy of national scrutiny. Instead, they barely scraped together 13 points against the Beavers. Six went to Jason Hill, a San Francisco native who badly wants to do well against the team from back home. His touchdown catch at Oregon State was the 30th of his career, but he came out of that game with an injured shoulder and isn’t at his best.
The Golden Bears should enjoy this weekend in the country before heading back to the overpopulated Bay Area.
California by 17
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