Penalties, ball-handling issues keep it interesting vs. Cougars
Rusty Simmons
The jinx of the Palouse is over. Despite a jumble of mistakes, No. 10 Cal (6-1, 4-0 Pac-10) managed to grab a road victory Saturday against Washington State for the first time since 1979. Just enough went right for the Bears to escape with a 21-3 win -- their sixth consecutive victory -- in a game that was as weird as the 69-degree temperature on the fall day in Eastern Washington and as odd as the seemingly silent crowd of 31,441.
"It was especially weird in the second half, because we shot ourselves in the foot so many times," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "It was things that haven't happened to us, like fumbled snaps and illegal formations and penalties to bring big plays back." It started with the opening kickoff, which Marcus O'Keith fumbled but David Gray recovered. The Cal drive ended when sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore was intercepted after driving the Bears into field-goal range. The errors continued as Cal fumbled four times and Longshore, who was ill, threw a second interception. The offense was also penalized six times, including a hold that wiped out a 35-yard run by junior tailback Marshawn Lynch, who ran 25 times for 152 yards and two scores.
"It was not a very good effort on the offensive side," Tedford said. "We need to regroup and come out ready to play next week, because today was not good enough offensively." The Bears host Washington next week, and despite consecutive losses to USC and Oregon State, the Huskies already have more wins (four) than the last two seasons combined. Of course, none of that will matter if the Cal defense continues to play the way it did against Washington State (4-3, 2-2). The Cougars were held without a touchdown for the first time since 2000. Linebackers Desmond Bishop and Zack Follett each recorded a team-high eight tackles, and defensive backs Bernard Hicks and Daymeion Hughes each had an interception. "I thought our defense played great, and it was a defensive victory," Tedford said. "They really did a nice job when they got in a short field, and they came up with some turnovers." They also dominated on 3rd- and 4th-down situations, allowing Washington State to convert on only 2 of 17 chances. It all started by stopping the running game. The Bears gave up a deceiving 88 rushing yards, since 70 came on one third-quarter carry by Derrell Hutsona.
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