BY Stephen Chen
By now, the No. 10 Cal football team’s offensive potential should be no surprise to opposing defenses.
Although Bears quarterback Nate Longshore had not thrown a touchdown pass in three weeks, Cal still came into Saturday’s contest against UCLA second in the Pac-10 in both scoring and total offense. “They did everything we expected them to do,” said Bruins safety Dennis Keyes after the Bears posted a 38-24 win. “We just weren’t making the plays we needed to make, and they popped a couple of big ones on us.” What may have been slightly unexpected, however, was that two of Cal’s biggest plays on offense came from wide receiver Robert Jordan. With sophomore DeSean Jackson posting record-setting statistics so far this season, Jordan, the most experienced receiver on the team, has been relatively quiet. The junior from Hayward, Calif., who came into the contest with just one touchdown in Cal’s five conference games, finished the game with 86 yards—a season high—and two touchdowns.
Jackson still garnered his share of the spotlight with a breathtaking, 72-yard punt return for a touchdown, but it was Jordan who was Longshore’s go-to target throughout the game. On the Bears’ first drive, Longshore found Jordan on third-and-three for a 10-yard touchdown pass that completed a drive that took nine minutes off the clock. Jordan added five receptions before game’s end. “We just knew we had to execute,” Jordan said. “UCLA does have a good defense, but I was pleased with our offensive line, our backs ran well and our quarterback threw well.” Jordan’s performance came on a night when the Bears tried to establish their running game early without their usual success. The Bruins defense showed how it had held opponents to an average 88 yards a game on the ground. Tailback Marshawn Lynch had few holes to work with, recording only 34 rushing yards on 10 carries at halftime. He ended the game with 81 yards, the first time the junior had failed to break the century mark since the Bears’ season opener. Lynch’s presence, however, forced UCLA to stack the box, freeing up the receivers. After beginning the game with zone sets, the Bruins switched to more man-to-man coverages. With 7:38 left in the third quarter, Jordan made a nifty cut to the middle of the field on a play-action sequence, giving him several steps on the defender. “They were cheating for the run,” Jordan said. “You have to cheat for Marshawn.”
Longshore then delivered the ball right on the mark, leading to a 44-yard touchdown reception that put Cal up 21-10 at the time. “That’s always nice,” Longshore said about seeing Jordan so wide open. “We were pounding them with the run a little bit. They stuck their nose in there, and we got them out over the top.” Against Oregon on Oct. 7, Longshore threw what looked to be a perfect 55-yard touchdown strike to Jordan in the second half, but the ball bounced off Jordan’s facemask for an incompletion. Mishandled passes were not the case Saturday, as Jordan more than made his presence felt. “He had that one fluke, but he’ll never drop one of those again,” Longshore said. “He usually gets open on those deep ones, so I just put it out there and give him a chance to make a play.”
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