Ray Ratto
Of course the Cal fans in the corner of Qualcomm Stadium chanted "one more year" when Marshawn Lynch was named one of the three Cal players of the game in the Golden Bears' 45-10 crushing of Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday night. And, of course, Lynch crooned back, "one more year." Just toying with them, of course, like any great entertainer, but it was just one more bit of fun on a night like so few others in Cal football history. Lynch is likely to play out for the next month or so the announcement expected of him -- that he is heading for the NFL to start the next phase of his career. When asked directly about it, he said, "It's cold out here. I gotta get inside." And he did, laughing as he went.
So it was the entire night, a night in which the Bears excised the demons of two years ago, when they came half-heartedly to San Diego and took a well-deserved hammering from Texas Tech. A night in which they also faced down the shame of what head coach Jeff Tedford generously called "a very disappointing" November. They dominated the Aggies across both lines, and deep into both backfields. If they were placed, as Lynch said, "right where we needed to be," they thoroughly controlled their environment. Lynch gained 111 yards on 20 carries, two of them for scores. His backup and likely successor, Justin Forsett, went for 124 and another score. Quarterback Nate Longshore missed only 5 of 24 passes for 235 yards, a score, one early and harmless interception and no sacks. The two lines utterly routed their A&M counterparts, and the option offense that befuddled the Bears on A&M's first drive did no more thereafter. It was, in short, their most dominant postseason game ever, and one that will provide rebuttal for those whose minds still go back to the losses at Arizona and USC that sent them here. "I was here two years ago when we got beat by Texas Tech, and it was a horrible feeling, horrible," senior tackle Andrew Cameron said. "And then, with the way the season sort of ended for us, we came here with an awful lot to prove. I know for a fact the offensive line worked harder for this game than we did all year, and we could tell we wore them down because they were bent over with their hands on their hips a lot." "A lot," indeed, given that the game actually turned for good midway through the first quarter. Texas A&M marched almost insouciantly down the field on its first possession, using a pitch to Mike Goodson for 19 yards, a quick slant from quarterback Steven McGee to L'Tydrick Riley for 12 more, and three inside runs to set up a 19-yard McGee pass to Chad Schroeder for A&M's first, and last touchdown. Eight plays later, Cal tied the game with such ease and precision (Longshore completing all five of his passes for 70 yards and plowing in from the 1) that the doubts that both history and recent malaise would smite the Bears melted away in the face of overwhelming size, speed and need.
It took awhile for the announced crowd of 62,395 to see that proven, but a 31-point second half, keyed by Lynch's second touchdown, a 1-yard dive 4:47 into the third quarter, made it comprehensively and painfully obvious. Cal was so dominant in producing its most lopsided win against a ranked team since beating Penn 40-0 in 1953 that even if/when Lynch leaves, it must be considered a national player when the season begins again in August. Lee Corso may not pick the Bears to win the national championship again despite Jackson's postgame prediction/goof for the fans that the Bears would win the national title next year, but this win went a long way toward curing some of the lingering ills of that disappointment. In fact, the only slightly false step of the evening came on Cal's last touchdown, when quarterback Steve Levy ignored Tedford's instructions to kneel down at the A&M 3-yard line with 30 seconds left and gave the ball to backup tailback Bryan Schutte, who ran through a hole for the 39th through 44th points. "No comment," Levy said with an impish smile when asked if, as it appeared on national TV, Tedford had given him what-for. "We kind of wanted to get one for Schuttie." And Tedford, who actually did give Levy what-for, acknowledged that Levy "had explicit instructions to kneel, but he kind of gave in to the pressure in the huddle." Tedford made nice with A&M coach Dennis Franchione, who by all accounts understood, at least some, the impetuousness of youth. But that was 28 seconds that could not erase the previous 59 minutes. Cal finished its year as though at least some of the early hype was well-aimed, and all that's left now is to wait for Lynch to warm himself, settle himself and prepare himself for the new world that awaits him. At least that's the betting. "Did Marshawn tell you anything?" Forsett said with a smile. "He just ran off? Yeah, he's good at that." You'll hear no argument there. Not in this town.
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