Matt Kawahara
In the first quarter of Saturday's season opener against Maryland, the Cal football team's offense did what everybody already knew it could do: giveJahvid Best the ball and score. From that point on, the Bears put the rest of their new and improved offensive weapons on display.
When the final whistle blew at 10:16 p.m., No. 12 Cal had turned a quest for redemption into trip after trip to the end zone, defeating the Terrapins 52-13 in front of 62,367 at Memorial Stadium. Best rushed for 137 yards, but only carried the ball 10 times. Quarterback Kevin Riley connected with nine different receivers. Five different players scored touchdowns.
An offense that last season was labeled one-dimensional burst onto the 2009 scene as widely potent.
"We have the most explosive player in the nation right now," Bears receiver Marvin Jones said. "But we want to show we can also pass." So they did. With Cal (1-0) leading 14-3 following a pair of touchdowns by Best, Riley commandeered a 31-0 run that included three scores through the air and had fans leaving the stadium before the fourth quarter.
Two of those passing touchdowns showed Riley's poise-a 39-yard strike over the middle to Nyan Boateng from a collapsing pocket and a 3-yard dart to tight end Skylar Curran after Riley rolled out to the right and shed a potential sack. The other showed touch-a 42-yard bomb to Jones that the receiver called "perfect." Both traits went missing from Riley's performance at times last season, but after completing just one pass in the first quarter on Saturday he seemed to hit his stride the rest of the way.
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