Daily Cal: Jackson's Big Plays Can't Fuel Bears to Victory

BY Steven Dunst

MoreTUSCON, Ariz.—Wideout DeSean Jackson was suffering from a chest cold and struggled to breathe in the high altitude in the No. 8 Cal football team’s 24-20 loss to Arizona.  But it was Wildcats safety Michael Johnson who needed help getting back on his feet after Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game.  Midway through the second quarter on second-and-12, Cal quarterback Nate Longshore threw a routine five-yard hitch to Jackson over the middle. Jackson saw a seam in the defense, took off and broke into the open down the right side.  Johnson tried to catch up, but pulled his hamstring in his failed attempt. He lay crippled in the end zone after Jackson sprinted untouched across the goal line for the 62-yard reception.  “They kind of left a crease in the defense,” Jackson said. “I just tried to hit the seam.”  Jackson led the Bears with six catches for 131 yards. He accumulated 282 total yards.  Just 3:17 into the game, he set a Pac-10 record with his fourth punt return for a touchdown on the season—the fifth of his career—with a 95-yard scamper.  Arizona punter Nick Folk kicked a low liner to Jackson at the five-yard line. Jackson broke up the middle, shed a tackle by fullback Brandon Lopez and eluded Folk before racing in for the score.  “(The record) is kind of the only reason I have to be happy about (after) the loss,” Jackson said.

He did all of this despite barely being able to breathe.  “I wasn’t really feeling too good, but I had to sacrifice for my team,” Jackson said. Added Tedford: “He got a cold and his chest was tight so we had to take him out of the game for pretty much the entire first half,” Tedford said. Jackson never felt at full strength but still played most of the second half. He even returned a kickoff—usually Justin Forsett or Marcus O’Keith’s assignment—late in the game in an attempt to energize the offense.  “I think if I was out there the whole game it would’ve given me more opportunities to make plays,” Jackson said.  Jackson was in no mood to talk to the media after the game. The upset, and his inability to keep his foot in bounds while breaking a tackle which negated a potential game-winning touchdown, loomed large in his mind.  “I actually didn’t know if I was in bounds or not,” Jackson said. “My focus was catching the football.”