By Matt Kawahara
In a rather ironic twist, the very reason that Kevin Riley was named the starting quarterback at the beginning of this Cal football season was what knocked him out of Saturday's win over Oregon. Trying to make something happen on a first down in Ducks territory, Riley tucked the ball and scrambled up the middle for a 12-yard gain. Only he went down a second too late, and took a blow to the head from hard-hitting Oregon safety T.J. Ward. At first, he refused to acknowledge his wooziness, possibly sensing that this would end up being the most exciting game of the 2008 Memorial Stadium slate, but he ultimately took a knee and was helped off the field with a concussion. Suddenly, in the interest of Riley's health, all talk of quarterback controversy was out the window. For the first time this season, one of Cal's signal callers was seriously out of a game. It was no longer a choice that coach Jeff Tedford had to make. It wasn't Riley leading the offense when it could be Nate Longshore, or Longshore under center when it could be Riley.
And for three quarters on Saturday, the faux-dual-quarterback system that the Bears have been running since August finally made sense. "Perfect example," Tedford said. "You need two quarterbacks from time to time through a season. We may need both of them. Today we did need both of them." Tedford has maintained for the past few weeks that both quarterbacks should take first-team repetitions in practice, in a move that has been widely criticized by the public. And in fact, he all but named Riley the starter on Tuesday.
But when the redshirt sophomore was knocked out of the game, that practice strategy allowed for an easy transition into leadership by Longshore. "Everyone was kinda worried (when Riley left the game)," tailback Shane Vereen said. "Well, not really worried, but just like, 'What the heck happened?' But Nate came in there and Nate did his job." Vereen said that the offensive huddle was immediately comfortable with Longshore entering the game. "It's huge because both guys are working in with everyone (in practice), so there's really no dropoff," Vereen said.
Thanks to a holding penalty that negated Riley's scamper, Longshore entered the game facing a first-and-25 situation. Three plays later, when Tedford elected to go for it on fourth-and-14, Longshore threw a perfect ball to wideout Jeremy Ross over the middle for a 16-yard gain. And although his numbers weren't spectacular (13-for-27 passing, 136 yards, one touchdown), Longshore was flawless in arguably his most important responsibility during a game that was marred by wet weather and slippery footballs-throwing no interceptions. "I feel like Nate can win," linebacker Worrell Williams said. "Nate won today. He came in and stepped up and did his job." With the performance, Longshore can now add another peak to his up-and-down Cal career. In three games against the Ducks, the fifth-year senior has three victories. "It's a little difficult to beat Oregon three times in a row," Tedford said. "So Nate has something to leave here with-a little feather in his cap."
No comments:
Post a Comment