By Jay Heater
BERKELEY, Calif. - It was early evening at Memorial Stadium, the light quickly escaping and all the California Golden Bears having left but one. Senior quarterback Steve Levy, the Cinderella kid, stood along one sideline, looking toward the playing field, pointing a finger toward the place he wants to be - in bounds. "I'm waiting my turn," he said, managing a small smile. "I'll be there if my time comes. Until then, I will give my constant support my advice." With the final Halloween of Levy's college football career approaching, Levy's Cinderella story has turned back into a pumpkin. Cal is rolling, but Levy is left to send in the plays to sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore. Levy, who led Cal to wins in last year's Big Game and the Las Vegas Bowl, is like the old muscle car that was so much fun to drive until the Ferrari came along. Longshore has thrown for 1,410 yards and 17 touchdowns in six games and has put a hammer lock on a position that was such a sore spot in 2005. Levy was the guy - an overachieving quarterback turned fullback turned back to quarterback - who saved the waning weeks of last season after replacing the struggling Joe Ayoob as starter. Bears coach Jeff Tedford handed Levy the reins to his offense and told him to carve out a steady but sure course. He did just that against Stanford, hitting DeSean Jackson on a 56-yard touchdown pass and running for 36 yards to spark the Bears' 27-3 victory. He then turned it loose in Las Vegas, going 16-of-23 for 228 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-28 win over BYU. "I was on Cloud Nine," he said. "Two months later, I was thinking, `Did that really happen?"" It did, and Cal fans loved him for it. More bowling ball than greyhound at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, Levy oozed toughness. For two magical games, grit outweighed his physical talent. He was the people's champion.
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