Sunday, August 31, 2008

SF Chronicle: Best, Riley fill stat sheet as upstart Bears take season opener

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Rusty Simmons

If it were up to sophomore tailback Jahvid Best, he'd still be Cal's punt-coverage specialist.  Since coaches won't allow their feature back to take that kind of injury risk, Best found a variety of other ways to contribute to Saturday night's 38-31 win over Michigan State in front of 62,956 fans in Strawberry Canyon.  Some were obvious. He ran 24 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, caught five passes for 63 yards and returned four kickoffs for 103 yards.  Some were a little less apparent. He ran down and tackled Otis Wiley, who appeared on his way to an interception-return touchdown. Best also leaped about 8 feet to his left to block a blitzer, giving Kevin Riley time to convert a third-down pass to Cameron Morrah on a Cal touchdown drive. Oh yeah, and he did much of it while battling leg cramps in the second half. Maybe that's why he didn't beg to go in on defense on Michigan State's final drive and left the disruption of the Spartans' last-ditch effort to linebacker Anthony Felder.

Best "has shown great maturity in the offense," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "I don't think he made a single mental mistake tonight. He's a no-nonsense guy, and he really prides himself on knowing what he is doing and executing. "It's great to see him get involved and take a big piece of the offense on his shoulders." It all added up to a season-opening win that might put the Bears into the Associated Press' Top 25 since Cal is currently at No. 28 and four top-25 teams lost in the opening week.  The Bears appear to have found answers at tailback and quarterback. They seemed every bit as physical as the Big Ten power team. And they got enough from their newly designed defense, especially in the first half, to stave off a solid Michigan State offense. Best and fellow tailback Shane Vereen combined for 212 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Aiming for one of them to become Cal's seventh consecutive 1,000-yard rusher, the duo raised the prospect that both might reach the milestone.

Riley was in command. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 202 yards and two scores. His most impressive plays came after Michigan State cut the lead to three twice and seven two other times in the second half. In each pressure-packed series that followed, Riley had the answers. He led touchdown drives of 76, 59 and 64 yards in response to the first three scores, and he ate enough clock on Cal's final drive to all but clinch the win. "When it came down to time to make plays, I made some and got lucky on some," Riley said. "We did our job. We got first downs and went down and scored when we had to." Cal's offensive line allowed one sack to a defense that was 14th in the nation last season, and the Bears' defensive line occupied huge blockers so the linebackers could accumulate 28 tackles. Javon Ringer, the nation's fourth-leading rusher among returning players, ran 27 times for 81 yards against Cal's new 3-4 defense. At halftime, Ringer had only 39 yards on 14 carries and was held out of the end zone.  "This gives the guys great confidence," defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. "Any time you're playing a Big Ten team, and you feel good about stopping the run, it gives you great confidence."

 

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