By Jake Curtis
Cal's seemingly routine 42-7 victory over Colorado State on Saturday left Jeff Tedford questioning two arms and a leg - the right arm of his quarterback Kevin Riley, the left arm of running back Jahvid Best and the leg of his kicker. He has no answers at the moment, but he might have replacements for all three for next week's game against Arizona State. Best's problem is a dislocated left elbow he sustained while trying to brace himself for a fall in the third period with Cal (3-1) comfortably ahead. "The good thing is there's no break, which is as positive as a dislocated elbow can be I guess," Tedford said. Best will undergo an MRI exam today to determine the extent of the damage. Tedford was unwilling to make a guess, but the ugly twist of Best's elbow on the play makes it hard to imagine that he will be ready for next week's game.
Riley's right arm is fine, but he had trouble locating his receivers with it. He was so ineffective - 6-for-13 for 59 yards - that he was replaced by Nate Longshore in the third quarter, and Tedford said he is not sure who will be the starter Saturday. "We'll see," he said. "We weren't sharp in the passing game." Longshore played when the game was out of reach, making it difficult to gauge his performance, but his numbers - 9-for-13, 100 yards, two touchdown passes - were better than Riley's. He and Riley apparently will compete for the starting spot during the week.
"If a guy did not play well, you have to look at adjustments," Tedford said. Then there's kicker David Seawright, who had his only field-goal attempt blocked and kickoffs that were short and off target. Tedford said he was "very" concerned about his kickoff efforts. "We may put it out on campus to see if we have any soccer players who can kick," Tedford said. All that clouded an otherwise solid performance. The Bears' special teams produced plays that changed the complexion of the game. The defense throttled Colorado State (2-2), barely missing its first shutout in three years. And Cal is on its way to erasing notions that it would collapse after a disappointing loss, as it did a year ago. Then, with the Bears cruising along with a 28-0 lead in the third quarter, Best tried to brace himself with his left arm as he hit the ground. His left elbow twisted in a manner that elbows are not designed to twist, and the Bears' leading rusher left the game with an injury that did not look good.
Now the Bears head into the meat of their Pac-10 schedule with questions at running back and quarterback, but knowing the conference's runner-up spot is very much up for grabs. Maybe even the title is within reach after USC's upset loss to Oregon State. Cal had to consider itself lucky to take a 21-0 lead at halftime, gaining just 146 yards of offense and turning the ball over twice. Mychal Kendricks facilitated the first score, breaking through to block an Anthony Hartz punt. The ball bounded backward, and Bryant Nnabuife snatched the bouncing ball in stride and ran the final 30 yards to make it 7-0 with 4:54 left in the first quarter.
"That was a game-changing play right there," cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson said. Forty-eight seconds later the Bears scored again. This time defensive end Keith Browner deflected a Bill Farris pass at the line, and Brett Johnson intercepted. No Rams player was near Johnson, who scampered 43 yards for the touchdown to make it 14-0. The defense made that more than enough, sacking Colorado State quarterbacks four times and keeping the Rams from scoring until late in the fourth quarter. "We seemed real fast today," Thompson said. The Bears offense put together a scoring drive late in the first half, although it was aided by a questionable interference call that gave the Bears a first down at the Rams' 11-yard line. The Bears ended any doubt early when Thompson returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown, spinning out of tackles and using most of the field to produce the score that made it 28-0. Longshore came in for Riley at that point, creating a bit of a quarterback competition for next week.
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