By Rusty Simmons
When Kevin Riley threw an interception in his first start as a high school varsity quarterback, his father and coach, Faustin, didn't call another passing play for the rest of the game. Cal coach Jeff Tedford is taking the opposite approach with Riley, putting the ball right back in the sophomore's hands for Saturday's game at Oregon State. On Tuesday, Tedford named Riley the starter although he's coming off his worst collegiate game and about to face the team against which he committed his career's biggest mental blunder. Riley was 4-for-16 for 59 yards, no touchdowns and an interception in Cal's 17-3 loss to USC on Saturday. Trailing Oregon State 31-28 with 1:27 remaining and no timeouts last year, Riley led a drive from Cal's 5-yard line to the Beavers' 12 only to get tackled in bounds and leave the Bears without enough time to kick a field goal.
"I think that was very disappointing when that happened, but I think he shook it off very well," Tedford said. "As a quarterback, you're going to run into those things. It's not the first nor will it be the last time that he's going to encounter wanting to do something differently, but he's done a nice job of putting it behind him."
Riley said he hadn't thought about the play again until this week. He has shown to have a short memory at all the right times, bouncing back from an interception on his first pass against Oregon to lead a 71-yard touchdown drive on the Bears' next possession. "I was hoping to turn questions about the Oregon State play into some kind of joke, but I know it happened and I've gotten past it," Riley said. "I know I messed up, and I knew the moment I did it.
"I can rest knowing that I played a solid game, I've learned from the mistake and it's not going to happen again." Tedford said Riley is starting because "his escape dimension and athletic ability give you more options on offense." Maybe noting that the passing game has lacked consistency, Tedford has announced his decision earlier than he was doing in the first part of the season. He hinted on the Tuesday of Oregon week that Riley would start against the Ducks. He said he would have made the decision Tuesday of USC week if Riley hadn't had a concussion. And he finally acted the Tuesday of Oregon State week.
"It means a lot," junior wideout Nyan Boateng said. "At first, we thought as a receiving corps that it didn't matter who was in there, but as you can see, when you switch quarterbacks, your timing gets off. I think we need one quarterback and (to) stick with him." Riley and senior Nate Longshore have split first- and second-team repetitions all season and each has played in eight of nine games. The lack of timing came to the fore against USC, when Riley said he "missed a number of open receivers and left a bunch of points on the field." "When you play a defense like that, sometimes you tend to rush things more than you would if you really felt comfortable in the pocket," Tedford said. "You have to throw the ball a beat sooner than you're really ready, but he did a good job of hanging in there and protecting the football. "He did a pretty good job under some extreme circumstances."
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