Daily Cal: Blowout Puts Cal Back in Elite Company

BY Stephen Chen

On paper, it was just another Saturday in Strawberry Canyon.  The No. 16 Cal football team took the field, put up points at will and embarrassed the opponent. Same old, same old—that is, if you ignore the fact that the Bears were playing the No. 11 team in the nation, on national television, in the prime time slot.  It all looked so easy for the new-look gold and blue.  Cal is unstoppable right now, and passing the Oregon test proves to everyone—including me—that this team has gotten over the hump and is ready and capable to challenge for a conference title.  The Ducks came into the game tops in the Pac-10 in scoring offense and pass defense. Oregon had the conference’s yardage leader at running back, quarterback and wide receiver.

Yet the Ducks came out of the game faring no better than Minnesota and Portland State.  Compared to 2004, when the Bears were ranked in the top 10 for almost the whole season, this year’s Cal team is deeper, more balanced and more confident.  “We got that swagger that I haven’t seen before,” tailback Justin Forsett said.  But behind that swagger is an unselfish team attitude that stems from having playmakers at every position.

“We’ve got guys out there that are the horses doing the work,” quarterback Nate Longshore said. “I get to sit back there and pretend I’m in charge. I’ve got the easiest job out there.”  In 2004, Cal had one dominant receiver in Geoff McArthur, with then-freshman Robert Jordan as the only other real threat. Now Jordan is a proven junior and has Lavelle Hawkins and DeSean Jackson, both of whom average over 50 receiving yards a game, running alongside him.

In 2004, the Bears totaled 10 interceptions for the season. Halfway through the 2006 campaign, Cal has already racked up 11—five of them coming from Daymeion Hughes, who is doing just about everything right on the football field.  “These guys make huge play after huge play,” offensive lineman Erik Robertson said, “It’s everybody. It’s fun to watch because no matter who’s out there you know something big is going to happen.”  Craig Stevens’ one-yard touchdown two minutes into the game perfectly summed up just how potent the Bears are.  Already a bit shell shocked by Brandon Hampton’s interception on the first play from scrimmage, Oregon had to contend with the Cal’s plethora of weapons.  The threats posed by Marshawn Lynch, Forsett, Jackson or whoever else you wish to include left Stevens with a catch as easy as the A’s path to the American League Championship Series.  Although the lopsided numbers on the scoreboard told much of the story, the deafening roar of the Bears faithful and the sight of the Ducks fans filing out of Memorial Stadium sent another message: This Cal team has exactly the right mentality and talent to take the next step, and there’s no more debating that.