Jonathan Okanes
It took one play Saturday to realize that Cal's concerns about playing its earliest conference opener since 1993 were unfounded. Tailback Jahvid Best scored on an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage and the Bears registered their third-highest point total ever in a 66-3 rout of overmatched Washington State. Cal (2-0) led 21-0 just over six minutes into the game and kept adding on. It led 42-3 at halftime and continued to build the margin with its second- and third-stringers. "We knew on film this wasn't going to be one of the best teams we faced," said Cal linebacker Zack Follett, who scored his first career touchdown on a 65-yard blocked-field-goal return. "We had to make sure we didn't play to their level, and I think we did that. Not taking anything away from them, but I'm really proud of this team."
Best rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in only 14 carries. He added an 86-yard scoring run early in the third quarter. Entering the day, Cal never had more than one run from scrimmage over 80 yards in the same season. With Shane Vereen's 81-yarder last week, the Bears have three this year. Best, whose 277 all-purpose yards against Michigan State were the third-best in the country in Week 1, had 202 Saturday.
"I said before the season that by the end of the season, Jahvid Best is going to be a household name," Follett said. "Since he got here, there have been comparisons to Reggie Bush. He's got that speed that Reggie didn't have. If he keeps getting the ball, he's going to keep doing great things."
Cal Coach Jeff Tedford had lamented playing a Pacific-10 Conference game so early. He said he would rather play all of the non-conference games first to gauge where his team stands heading into the Pac-10.
But after Best's early touchdown, Cal cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson intercepted a pass from Gary Rogers on Washington State's second play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Cal wide receiver Sean Young caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Riley to make it 14-0, the first score of Young's career.
That was the first of two Thompson interceptions, giving him three this season. He returned the second one 90 yards to the Cougars' 5, setting up Best's second touchdown. Thompson is playing the best of his career, despite recently recovering from a shoulder sprain that kept him out of practice for much of the first week of the season. "When Saturday comes, you kind of just forget about everything that's going on," said Thompson, who set a Cal record with 108 interception return yards. "You just go out there and do your thing." Vereen added 80 yards in nine carries, including a 39-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that put the Bears up 21-0. Things were rolling so well for the Bears that Riley scored on a 27-yard run after Vereen went the wrong way on what was supposed to be a handoff.
Best's final touchdown came on Cal's third play of the second half, and Tedford began emptying his bench. By the end of the game, third-string quarterback Brock Mansion and tailback Tracy Slocum were leading the offense, and each scored the first touchdown of his career. Backup quarterback Nate Longshore entered early in the third quarter and was 7 of 8 for 53 yards. Riley was 6 of 14 for 51 yards as the Bears' passing game never got going, mostly because it wasn't necessary. "You really worry about people getting in a comfort zone, but I didn't think our team did that today," Tedford said. "I thought they played hard the whole game. Obviously, it's nice to get out to a lead. But then you really need to continue to keep the momentum and keep the pressure on."
The Cougars (0-2) were as bad as the Bears were good. Their new spread offense continues to be a work in progress as it netted just 167 total yards. Three quarterbacks combined to throw four interceptions, and starter Rogers was 10 of 21 for 78 yards and two interceptions. "Our coaches flat-out told us that we should beat this team," Cal linebacker Worrell Williams said. "We wanted to make it look like that."
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