BY Steffi Chan and Steven Dunst
• Starting tailback Marshawn Lynch is slated to play in Saturday’s game against Washington State after twisting his ankle in the second quarter of the No. 10 Cal football team’s win over Oregon. After breaking through for a 24-yard run, Lynch fell awkwardly and did not return to the contest. X-rays taken Saturday were negative. “He looked fine,” coach Jeff Tedford said after Tuesday’s practice. “He was running very well, without a limp. He’ll be ready to go, as of now.”
• The Bears (5-1, 4-0 in the Pac-10) featured a new look Saturday with their can’t-miss gold jerseys. Although Tedford recalls two or three players approaching him and requesting them, Cal quarterback Nate Longshore remembers the situation transpiring differently. He credits Tedford with making the final decision on what to wear. “When the boss says do something, you do it,” Longshore said. Tedford said the team models all of the different uniform combinations at the beginning of the year, and he and the team make a decision before every game. While Tedford said he approved of the gold jerseys because the team won, center Alex Mack was not as enthusiastic about the switch from the traditional blue tops. “Yellow is not slimming,” Mack quipped. “I’d prefer to just worry about the game.”
• For the second time this season, a Bears game will not be televised in the Bay Area. A week after a prime time matchup on ABC, Cal’s game in Pullman, Wash., will only be broadcast in Washington because Comcast Sports Net was unable to work around the Cougars’ contractual obligations with their local media outlets. Tedford is particularly disappointed because he previously assured family members of the players that the game would be televised after it appeared Comcast would be able to work out a deal. “More than anything, it’s to have the Cal alums and everybody have a chance to see the team play,” Tedford said. “They have families who can’t afford to get to some place and to be able to watch them play—that’s the main reason. It’s nice for recruiting to have, more exposure of course.”
• This season, the Bears have been utilizing a number system corresponding with plays written on the players’ wristbands instead of signaling each play from the sidelines. Last year, the coaching staff signaled 90 to 95 percent of the plays, which meant making up to eight signals at times. “It makes life a lot easier because we would spend countless hours going over signals,” Tedford said. “Every time we came up with a new play, we came up with a new signal for it. So we would have signal meetings which take time.” The wristbands have about 150 plays on them, but a few are still signaled.
• After his team’s season-opening 40-14 loss to then-No. 4 Auburn, Washington State coach Bill Doba had good things to say about the Tigers program and their fans. Not only did the Cougars leave with respect for Auburn’s performance on the gridiron and a feeling that the contest made them better, they also left with respect for the fans, who treated the visitors with some southern hospitality, Doba said. “The people there were awesome: ‘Y’all come back, so we can beat your butt again,’’ Doba mimicked with a laugh. “One thing that was different than playing in your own conference or a rival team: They cheered for their team, they didn’t cheer against us. “You didn’t hear, ‘Your mother’s... whatever’, all that kind of stuff you normally hear at other places.”
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