Daily Cal: Bears Defense Turns In Exceptional Showing

BY Steven Dunst

On the first play of the game with the sellout crowd already at a fever pitch, safety Brandon Hampton eyed Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon under pressure. He jumped in front of Dixon’s errant pass, coming up with his second interception of the year, and returned it to the Oregon seven-yard line.

“It just set the tone for the whole day,” Hampton said of his pick. “We just kept rolling. It gave us a lot of confidence that we can do it.”   The No. 16 Cal football team got on board shortly thereafter, with quarterback Nate Longshore throwing a short touchdown to tight end Craig Stevens.

The defense also set up a touchdown in the second quarter when senior defensive tackle Abu Ma’afala recovered a fumble to set up Longshore’s quarterback sneak.  Forget that the battle at Memorial Stadium was rightfully billed as a shootout.  Forget that coming into Saturday’s game, Dixon led the Pac-10 in total offense and Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart led the conference in rushing.  Forget that the Cal offense held up its end of the bargain, scoring over 40 points for the fifth consecutive game, a school record.  The Bears defense, particularly the secondary, was the unit at the epicenter of the biggest game in the Bay Area since 1991, igniting the offensive explosion and turning the game into a blowout by grounding one of the conference’s most impressive offensive attacks.

“Our offense feeds on our defense, and our offense can’t be stopped right now,” said linebacker Zack Follett, who recorded a sack and a tackle for a loss. “With our defensive scheme, we knew exactly what they were trying to do to us.”  Stewart, who had rushed for at least 142 yards in each full game this year, was held to 25 yards on 18 carries Saturday.  “I have two words,” Hampton said. “Forsett and Lynch. We see those guys every day.”

Dixon did not fare any better than Stewart.  The junior quarterback only had two interceptions through the first four weeks but the Bears defense manhandled him into three more, successfully applying pressure up front and staying with Oregon’s physical receivers one-on-one on the outside.

Wide receiver Jaison Williams ranked second in the country in receiving yards coming into the game, but only managed two catches for 18 yards in the first half before finally breaking loose for a touchdown in the fourth when the outcome was already in the books.  “We’ve got Daymeion Hughes,” said safety Bernard Hicks, who hauled in an interception in the second half while stepping in for the injured Thomas DeCoud. “We can put him one-on-one with anyone in the country and he’s going to cover him. We really weren’t too worried (about Williams).”  Hughes ran with the 6-foot-5 Williams the entire game, harassing him into numerous drops and forcing Dixon to try and hit secondary targets.  “We really didn’t do too much different than what we do on the daily basis,” Gregory said. “We executed everything really fast.”  Hampton’s interception was the catalyst, the right hook in the first round that put a dual-threat quarterback who steamrolled Arizona State and Oklahoma reeling and on his heels.