Jonathan Oakanes
It appears it's now Kevin Riley's team at Cal. Riley will start at quarterback Saturday at Washington State and there are no plans to use Nate Longshore in relief, Coach Jeff Tedford said. "Kevin earned it last week," Tedford said Tuesday. "Kevin played well enough to be the guy. I'm not a huge fan of going back and forth." Riley won the quarterback competition during training camp, but Tedford said the evaluation would be ongoing. Tedford decided before the season opener against Michigan State to give Longshore some playing time. Longshore played two possessions, each of which ended in an interception. The second came deep in Cal territory and was returned for a touchdown. "Nate made a very poor decision on the second interception," Tedford said. "The first interception was a defensive back making a great play. Unfortunately, there were a couple big plays that weren't positive for Nate. If the roles had been reversed, we may have changed our thinking (for Saturday's game)." Riley was 17 for 24 for 202 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.
"I thought after the game this might happen," Riley said. "They named me the starter and Coach told me not to look over my shoulder, and I didn't. "Nate is a great teammate. It's a tough situation. He's a team guy. I think he understands it's the coaches' decision and if he gets a chance, he has to be ready." The Bears didn't record any sacks against Michigan
State, but they put consistent pressure on Spartans quarterback Brian Hoyer. "We didn't have any sacks, but we had a couple of good hits on him," nose tackle Derrick Hill said. "We plan on turning those hits into sacks. We're trying to take on a whole new attitude as far as our whole identity." Cal had just 22 sacks last season — last in the Pacific-10 Conference — and just 10 from its defensive linemen.
Wide receiver Michael Calvin (sprained toe) was feeling better Tuesday, Tedford said. Calvin saw limited action Saturday. Left tackle Mike Tepper (pectoral muscle surgery, hamstring) will continue to rest this week. Junior cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson, who had one of the best games of his career Saturday despite recovering from a sprained shoulder, will get some extra rest this week, Tedford said. Six true freshmen played for Cal on Saturday — wide receiver Marvin Jones, linebacker Mychal Kendricks, kickers David Seawright and Giorgio Tavecchio, linebacker Robert Mullins and nose tackle Kendrick Payne.
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