Contra Costa Times: Key to attack will be speed

OKLAHOMA WAS ABLE TO RUN AGAINST A&M

By Jay Heater

SAN DIEGO - Although Oklahoma runs an entirely different offense than Cal, the Sooners might have provided some valuable information that could be used against Texas A&M on Thursday in the Holiday Bowl. Oklahoma, which beat the Aggies 17-16 in Big 12 play, ran up 224 rushing yards. ``Oklahoma did a great job coming off the ball and attacking them, moving very fast,'' Cal center Alex Mack said. ``Hopefully, we're able to do that.'' After Cal beat Stanford, Bears guard Erik Robertson said his team's offense was thinking too much before attacking. Coach Jeff Tedford noted the same thing. The emphasis during practice leading up to the Holiday Bowl has been getting off the ball and attacking. ``We got back to the basics,'' Mack said. ``We're just hitting people. We're not thinking about anyone else. We are just thinking about ourselves.'' The Aggies, who allow 123 yards rushing per game, use a four-man defensive front, two linebackers and five defensive backs with the emphasis on speed, not size. It would appear that such a scheme would make it tough to stop Cal's rushing attack. ``But they mix it up real well,'' Mack said. ``Their 'backers move around a lot. It's pretty much our defense.''

Texas A&M actually runs a more conventional defense than Cal, Bears quarterback Nate Longshore said. ``Their No. 33 (strong safety Melvin Bullitt) really is a linebacker in theory, but he plays like a safety.'' Tedford said he looks at A&M's defense as a 4-3 alignment. He also noted that the Aggies don't mind crowding the line of scrimmage. ``They don't give you six men in the box, but they are more of an eight-man front.''

• Cal linebacker Zack Follett sat out most of practice because he felt sick to his stomach Tuesday. Several Bears have experienced the same problem the past couple of days. Backup guard Bryan Deemer and second-string linebacker Justin Moye have been ill as well. ``It's not the flu,'' Tedford said. ``I think it is something they ate. But it is not a lingering thing.''

• Tedford said he doesn't expect Cal will miss a beat with sophomore fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou in the game instead of injured starter Byron Storer. A key component in Cal's offense recently has been short passes to the fullback. Storer was solid, catching eight passes for 61 yards this season. ``Will catches it well,'' Tedford said. ``He will do just fine.''