On a potential collision course with USC to determine the Pac-10 championship this year, the surging 10th-ranked California Golden Bears take a trip to the Pacific Northwest this weekend to battle the Washington State Cougars in conference action from Pullman. Jeff Tedford's Golden Bears had a big showdown with an explosive Oregon team last weekend and came out on top in spectacular fashion, 45-24. The win was the fifth in a row for Cal, which dropped its season-opener at Tennessee. The Golden Bears are 3-0 in league play, tied with the Trojans for first place. Bill Doba's Cougars are certainly no pushovers, trailing the Bears and Trojans but just one game in the league standings (2-1). After dropping a tough decision to USC two weeks ago (28-22), WSU got back in the win column with a 13-6 victory at Oregon State. California leads the all-time series with Washington State by a count of 37-25-5. The Golden Bears posted a 42-38 shootout victory in Berkeley last season. Cal has not had tremendous success in Pullman in this series (8-13-1) and hasn't won there since 1979.
Offensively, the Golden Bears operate at a level that few teams compare to. California is getting it done in every phase of the game on this side of the football, averaging nearly 40 points per game (39.5), on 447.5 yards of total offense. The team has the ability to kill opponents both on the ground (167.3 ypg) and through the air (280.2 ypg). Perhaps the most unexpected surprise for Tedford this year has been the maturity of sophomore Nate Longshore under center. The 6-5 youngster is commanding this offense with the kind of precision that is reserved for select veteran All-Americans. Longshore is completing 65 percent of his passes thus far, for 1,410 yards, with 17 TDs and five interceptions. He has an All-American candidate on the outside in fellow sophomore DeSean Jackson, who leads the team in receptions (29), receiving yards (522) and TDs (eight). If it isn't Longshore slicing defenses through the air, it is tailback Marshawn Lynch running around or through them. Lynch is one of the more talented rushers in the country, averaging 7.0 yards per carry in 2006, having amassed 605 yards and four scores.
The California defense goes overlooked at times because of the offensive success the team enjoys. It is probably a good thing, because this unit is just mediocre statistically speaking. The Golden Bears are allowing 21.0 ppg this year, giving up decent yardage both on the ground (130.8 ypg) and through the air (237.7 ypg). However, this is a unit that thrives on big plays, as evidenced by the team's 16 forced turnovers. Eleven of those are interceptions, led by senior cornerback Daymeion Hughes (five INTs), who may be the best cover corner in the country. Senior middle linebacker Desmond Bishop is the top tackler on the team, collecting 42 stops thus far. Bishop leads the team in TFLs (five), with two sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
A few teams can hang offensively with California and unfortunately, Washington State is probably not one of them. The Cougars do however, possess an efficient offense that gets solid balance between the run (162.5 ypg) and the pass (252.2 ypg), resulting in 26.3 ppg. Most of the passing has come from the arm of quarterback Alex Brink, who has completed 60.1 percent of his tosses, for 1,334 yards with nine TDs and four picks. His top two options downfield are Michael Bumpus (40 receptions, for 384 yards and one TD) and Jason Hill (28 catches, for 400 yards and five scores). The team lost All-American tailback Jerome Harrison to the NFL this year and has been unable to replace him with one RB. Instead it has been a backfield-by-committee in 2006, with Dwight Tardy (286 yards and two TDs) representing the best of the bunch.
Where the Cougars perhaps have an edge is on the defensive side of the ball. This is a tenacious group in Pullman, as the squad is allowing just 18.2 ppg. Stopping the run is this team's greatest strength (98.8 ypg) and while the pass defense has been a bit generous (221.0 ypg), it plays right into the hands of All-American candidate Mkristo Bruce. The veteran rush end leads the nation in sacks through six games, having recorded 10 thus far. Bruce is a very active downlineman, ranking second on the team in tackles (36), while pacing the unit in sacks and TFLs (11). Senior safety Eric Frampton (team-high 46 tackles, two INTs) highlights the play in the secondary, while senior linebacker Scott Davis (35 tackles, 6.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks) terrorizes with his upfield play. Davis was recently named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at Oregon State, Davis had six tackles, including three sacks and recovered two fumbles in the win.
While WSU has a strong defense with the ability to keep offenses off-balance, the Golden Bears are as hot as any team in the country right now and a road win in Pullman is almost a certainty.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: California 38, Washington State 22
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