Daily Cal: Forget the Suspense This Time

Jackson, Bears Jump All Over Oregon to Record Fifth-Straight 20-Plus Point Win

BY Brian Bainum

Cal coach Jeff Tedford said the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium felt like a concert before Saturday’s game against No. 11 Oregon.  Once the whistle blew, DeSean Jackson took center stage and the Bears rocked out.  Like he has for most of the 2006 season, Jackson made the biggest plays—a 36-yard touchdown reception and an electrifying 65-yard punt return for a touchdown—and Cal (5-1, 3-0 in the Pac-10) turned what many anticipated to be a closely fought battle between conference heavyweights into a 45-24 rout.  The No. 16 Bears found themselves back in the national spotlight five weeks after being beaten, 35-18, by Tennessee. This time around, Cal put together a performance that could only be described—much like its new jerseys—as golden.  Nate Longshore threw three touchdown passes and ran for one more, and Justin Forsett rushed for 163 yards filling in for the injured Marshawn Lynch as Cal scored over 40 points for a school-record fifth consecutive game.

“I’m really proud of the way our team played today,” Tedford said. “It was an unbelievable atmosphere here.”  Cal gave the sellout crowd of 72,516 a reason to cheer from the get-go.  Ducks quarterback Dennis Dixon’s first pass of the game was intercepted by Brandon Hampton. Six plays later Longshore hooked up with a wide-open Craig Stevens on third-and-goal to put the Bears on the board.  They never looked back.  The score was 28-3 after Jackson fielded Aaron Knowles’ punt at his own 35, cut to the right sideline, changed his mind, headed back to the left before reversing field, finding a crease and outrunning everyone to the end zone.

“I went to the right and there were lots of Ducks, I went to the left and there were lots of Ducks,” Jackson said. “I was just trying to get away.”

Jackson had already freed himself once of the Oregon secondary, using a little stutter step move to get by Jairus Byrd and haul in a perfect pass from Longshore in the end zone to make it 14-3 with 1:17 to play in the first quarter.  Jackson only caught one other pass on the day, but ended up with more yards than fellow sophomore Jaison Williams. Williams led the Pac-10 in receiving yards entering the contest and caught five passes for 66 yards, but he also hurt the Ducks with several drops.  “DeSean Jackson has great speed and he is making plays,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said.

Jackson’s heroics put a charge into the crowd in what was only the fourth non-Big Game sellout in school history.  Tedford and several Cal players had implored the fans to create a more hostile environment earlier in the week. Their requests were granted. The Bears faithful arrived early and were vocal from the start.  “I really want to thank the fans for creating the 12th man,” Tedford said. “It was a great day for our players, the university and for our fans. I really appreciate the environment.”

Lynch sprained his ankle after a 25-yard scamper to the one-yard line that set up Longshore’s touchdown run midway through the second quarter. Right after the game, Tedford said X-rays were negative.  Without Lynch, the Cal rushing attack barely missed a beat. Forsett picked up 147 of his 163 yards in the second half, as the Bears were able to mount three drives of over five minutes each to snuff out any hopes of a Ducks comeback.

“(Those drives were) definitely big for us,” Cal senior guard Erik Robertson said. “We wanted to control the ball and run the ball on them in the second half, and I think we did.”  The Bears offensive line also did a good job of protecting Longshore. Oregon (4-1, 2-1) was unable to record a sack and only mustered one tackle for a loss.  “They are the best five guys I could ask for,” Longshore said. “We don’t have marquee names like last year, but this unit, 10 or 11 deep, working together, is the best offensive line we’ve had since I’ve been here.”  On the other side of the ball, Cal was also able to control the trenches. The Bears defensive line recorded nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including two sacks.  “They gave us a lot of looks and disguised it really well up front,” Oregon center Enoka Lucas said. “They had a pretty good game plan. A lot of times, they kind of knew what we are doing.”  Dixon completed 20-of-35 passes for 263 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns, but his three interceptions proved costly.

“We got some hits in on him and that helps,” Cal defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said.  With the win, the Bears moved to No. 10 in the AP poll, while the Ducks fell to No. 18.