Oct. 3, 2009

BERKELEY, Calif. – Taylor Mays set the tone with an interception on the first drive of the game, Damian Williams returned a punt for a touchdown and the seventh-ranked Trojans beat No. 24 California, 30-3, Saturday night.

Joe McKnight ran for 119 yards and scored the only two offensive touchdowns for USC (4-1, 2-1 Pac-10) with a 38-yard run on the first Trojan drive and a 5-yard run late in the fourth quarter that emptied the stadium.

Jordan Congdon kicked three field goals and the defense did the rest, holding Cal’s Jahvid Best to 47 yards on 14 carries and keeping the Golden Bears scoreless until Vince D’Amato’s 29-yard field goal with 10:45 remaining.

The win capped an emotional week for the Trojans. Running back Stafon Johnson is still recovering from seven hours of reconstructive surgery Monday after a weight bar fell on his neck, crushing his larynx and throat. With Johnson watching from his hospital room, his teammates delivered against Cal.

After losing 16-13 two weeks ago at Washington, USC didn’t give up a score until 22 seconds remained in last week’s 27-6 victory against Washington State and then blanked Cal until early in the fourth quarter.

With the defense playing this well, the Trojans are making it easy on freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. Barkley was inconsistent in this game, completing 20 of 35 passes for 283 yards and an interception. He moved the ball down the field with ease but struggled to punch the ball into the end zone.

It didn’t matter with the way the Trojans’ defense played. They had the answer for whatever trick Cal coach Jeff Tedford tried. Best took a handful of direct snaps in Cal’s version of the wildcat, the Bears went for it twice on fourth down, and even a well-designed trick play didn’t work.

In the third quarter, Cal came out of a timeout with Shane Vereen standing next to its sideline, just on the field of play. With no defender near him, Vereen went out for a pass, but instead of a big play, Kevin Riley threw high for an incompletion. The next play was a screen pass that left tackle Mike Tepper caught for an illegal touch penalty.

That was the kind of day it was for Riley, who was 15 for 40 for 199 yards and an interception in his second straight sub-par performance. He was just 12 for 31 for 123 yards in last week’s 42-3 loss at Oregon.

Riley’s interception in the end zone on the opening drive was his first of the year. Six plays later, McKnight dived into the end zone at the end of his long run. Williams’ 66-yard punt return made it 17-0 in the second quarter and the rout was on. Williams caught eight passes for 101 yards.

After scoring 146 points in its first three games, Cal has just six the past two weeks. Cal has failed to score a touchdown just three times in eight years under Tedford, with two of them coming the past two weeks. The other was against USC in 2007, which was the last time Cal lost at home before Saturday night.

Even the speedy Best couldn’t get going against the Trojans. On one play in the first half, he was chased down by Mays for no gain on a third-and-2 run.

Folksey

Sept. 26, 2009

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Jeremiah Masoli answered his doubters by throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns in Oregon’s 42-3 upset of sixth-ranked California on Saturday.

Masoli went into the game without a scoring pass this season, prompting Ducks fans to call for his benching. But he responded by completing 21 of 25 passes for the Ducks (3-1), who had 524 yards in total offense to Cal’s 206 yards.

Tailback Jahvid Best ran for just 55 yards for the Golden Bears (3-1). Widely considered a top Heisman contender, Best went into the game ranked third in the nation with an average of 137.33 yards on the ground.

Oregon tight end Ed Dickson had 11 catches for a career-best 148 yards. He caught all three of Masoli’s scoring passes.

Cal scored on Vince D’Amato’s 47-yard field goal early after Oregon fumbled on its opening kickoff return.

The Golden Bears would not score again.

Oregon tied it with Morgan Flint’s 30-yard field goal. Masoli completed five passes on the scoring drive – surpassing the four completions he had last weekend in Oregon’s 31-24 victory over then-No. 18 Utah.

Despite the win, Masoli was widely criticized for his performance and many suggested the Ducks go with backup Nate Costa against Cal. Oregon first-year coach Chip Kelly was steadfast in support of Masoli.

His first touchdown pass of the season was a 26-yard strike to Dickson that opened the second quarter. Masoli then tossed to Flint, who scampered into the end zone for the conversion to put the Ducks up 11-3.

After D’Amato missed a 43-yard attempt, Oregon pushed its lead to 18-3 on Remene Alston’s 1-yard TD dive. LaMichael James ran for a 4-yard touchdown just before halftime to make it 25-3.

James is among a trio of backs that Oregon has looked to since LeGarrette Blount was suspended for punching a Boise State player in the aftermath of the season opener. Blount is out for the season, but he is allowed to practice and this week wore Best’s No. 4 jersey on the practice squad.

James finished with 21 carries for 118 yards.

In the third quarter, Dickson caught scoring passes of nine and 36 yards from Masoli as Oregon went up 39-3. Ironically, fans who called for Costa got their wish when Masoli left the game early in the fourth quarter.

Flint added a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Cal quarterback Kevin Riley, who went to high school in Beaverton, Ore., completed 12 of 31 passes for 123 yards. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by redshirt freshman backup Beau Sweeney.

Last weekend Best tied a Pac-10 record with five rushing touchdowns to lead the Golden Bears to a 35-21 victory at Minnesota, for which he earned Pac-10 player of the week honors.

But Oregon was able to shut him and the rest of Cal’s running game down. The Golden Bears had just 77 yards on the ground.

Cal was averaging 488.7 yards in total offense going into the game to rank 11th nationally, and gaining 250.33 yards on the ground.

The Ducks were wearing throwback uniforms from the late 90s, featuring yellow helmets with an entwined UO.

Folksey

Sept. 19, 2009

The Golden Bears improve to 3-0. Cal Up To No. 6 In Latest AP and USA Today Rankings

MINNEAPOLIS — The California Golden Bears were on their heels again in a game away from home, tied with Minnesota going into the fourth quarter with a hostile crowd breathing down their necks.

Cal running back Jahvid Best tied a school record with five rushing TDs and went over the 100-yard rushing mark for the seventh straight game.

As thoughts of “Here we go again” entered the minds of Cal backers everywhere, Jahvid Best couldn’t wait to show them that this year will be different.

“I’m kind of glad they came back and tested us a little bit,” Best said.

Best rushed for 131 yards and a modern school-record five touchdowns to help the No. 8 Golden Bears vanquish a road curse in a 35-21 victory over scrappy Minnesota.

Best scored on runs of 33, 27 and 2 yards in a breathtaking first half, but his most important runs of the game came on a pair of 2-yard sprints to the corner of the end zone to hold off Minnesota and snap a four-game road losing streak.

“I see him as a complete player,” offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said. “I don’t see him as a role player. That guy, we’re asking him to do a lot and he accepts his workload and responsibility.”

Kevin Riley overcame a shaky start to finish with 252 yards for Cal (3-0), which had lost eight of its last nine on the road.

“We tried to make a statement that we’re going to be road warriors this year,” defensive end Tyson Alualu said. “It’s a different team than last year.”

Eric Decker caught eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns, and threw another TD for the Golden Gophers (2-1), who gave Cal everything it could handle in their shiny new stadium.

But Adam Weber threw a costly interception late in the game and Best had too much speed for the Gophers, who were in search of their first victory over a top-10 team at home since beating No. 1 Michigan in 1977.

“What I’m really disappointed in is we didn’t find a way to win the game,” Gophers coach Tim Brewster said. “When you play a great opponent like you’re playing today, the team that’s going to win is the team that makes the plays at the end of the football game.”

Cal rolled into this game after two easy victories over Maryland and Eastern Washington, racking up more than 50 points and 500 yards in each of them, and this one had the appearance of another blowout early.

On Cal’s opening drive, Best burst through the middle, cut right and then leaped from the 3-yard line over cornerback Ryan Collado and into the end zone to cap an electric 33-yard run.

On its next possession, Best ripped off a 25-yard run on the first play. That set up a play-action fake, and Riley hit Verran Tucker for a 59-yard completion to the Minnesota 2. Best was in the end zone a few seconds later, and Cal led 14-0 before the game was 8 minutes old.

With the offense reeling, Decker absorbed a brutal hit from Cal safety Sean Cattouse, but somehow held on to the ball for a 26-yard score to make it 14-7.

The hit opened a gash on Decker’s chin, and blood poured onto his gold jersey as he rolled on the turf in pain. The gritty receiver stayed in the game and would make things interesting before halftime, hauling in a 12-yard TD to pull Minnesota to 21-14 at the break.

It was also his 199th career reception, which broke Ron Johnson’s school record.

“I can’t remember the hit,” said Decker, who needed four or five stitches to close the cut. “They’re a tough, physical team.”

He wasn’t done there.

Decker took a pitch to the left side and the Minnesota Twins draft pick fired a strike to MarQueis Gray to tie the game at 21 at the end of the third quarter.

After rushing for 114 yards and three scores in the first half, Best had just three carries for 4 yards in the second half when Cal took the ball midway through the fourth quarter with the game tied.

Riley was sluggish much of the game, but he converted a crucial third-and-16 with a 35-yard completion to Jeremy Ross for Cal’s first first down of the second half, then hit him again for 31 yards to the Minnesota 1.

Best outran the Gopher defense to the corner for a 2-yard score, putting Cal ahead for good.

“He’s probably the fastest running back I’ve ever played against,” Minnesota linebacker Lee Campbell said. “You had to keep him coralled. You saw what happened. When he got outside, he’s gone.”

Defensive end Eddie Young’s pressure forced Weber to rush a throw on the ensuing possession and Mike Mohamed intercepted it.

Best capped his historic day with another 2-yard sprint to the corner, giving Cal some momentum heading into a tough stretch that includes games at Oregon, against USC and at UCLA in the next four weeks.

“It is great to play a tough game and to be able to play well in the fourth quarter and make plays when you need to make plays in all phases of the team,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “I think it will give us a boost and give us a little bit of confidence.”

Folksey

Sept. 5, 2009

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) – Jahvid Best and his California teammates were wide awake from the start of their rematch against Maryland.

Best ran 73 yards for one of his two first-quarter touchdowns and the 12th-ranked Golden Bears avenged an early-season loss to the Terrapins last season with a 52-13 victory Saturday night to open this season.

Kevin Riley added a career-high four touchdown passes for the Bears, who jumped on top 45-6 in a drastic turnabout from last year’s meeting won by Maryland 35-27.

That game was played in East Coast humidity with a noon start, with Cal falling behind 21-3 early in the second quarter. This year, it was the Maryland players who had to adjust to the time change with a game that started just after 7 p.m. PDT.

The Terps never did and had their most lopsided season-opening loss since the first game in school history, a 50-0 loss to St. John’s of Annapolis in 1892.

Best made his own highlight reel in this game, starting with the long touchdown run that opened the scoring. On the first play of Cal’s second possession, Best burst up the middle and broke away from the Maryland defense. He slowed up at the 25 to wait for a block by Verran Tucker on defensive back Nolan Carroll, before finishing off his ninth career run of at least 60 yards.

It’s those kinds of runs that have made Best a trendy Heisman contender and the Bears a team to be reckoned with in the Pac-10. Best finished with 137 yards on 10 carries, including a 40-yarder that was sprung by a block from Riley, before ending his night early.

But it’s the play of Riley and the passing game that will probably determine how far Cal goes this season. Riley completed 17 of 26 passes for 298 yards, including a 42-yarder that dropped right into Marvin Jones’ hands in the end zone to make it 45-6.

Riley’s first completion was a 20-yard strike to Jones that came after Torrey Smith fumbled the kickoff following Best’s first TD. Best leaped in from the 2 on the following play for his second score in a 42-second span.

That was Riley’s only completion in five attempts in the first quarter. But he found his stride in the second, connecting on a 39-yard pass to Tucker that set up a 3-yard TD pass to Skyler Curran. Riley did a good job avoiding a sack by Jared Harrell before finding Curran for the score that made it 24-6.

Riley then found a wide-open Nyan Boateng on a 39-yard pass in the final minute of the half to give the Bears a 31-6 lead at the break.

Maryland was supposed to be the team with the pressure defense after bringing in coordinator Dan Brown and his blitzing schemes. But the Bears had no problems moving the ball, going over the 500-yard mark midway through the fourth quarter.

It was Cal that constantly pressured Chris Turner, sacking him six times and keeping the Terps out of the end zone until Da’Rel Scott’s 39-yard run made it 45-13 midway through the third quarter.

Turner finished 17 for 30 for 167 yards.

Folksey

California will kick off its 114th season of football at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, against Maryland at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. The contest will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

The Golden Bears begin a promising 2009 campaign looking to extend current streaks of seven straight winning seasons, six consecutive post-season appearances and four bowl victories in a row – the latter two school records.

In the first seven seasons under head coach Jeff Tedford, the Bears’ 59-30 record is their best seven-year stretch in nearly a century since a seven-year run under legendary head coach Andy Smith when the Wonder Teams posted a 57-4-5 mark from 1918-24. The team’s 59 wins over the past seven seasons are also the second most in the Pac-10 behind USC.

Enthusiasm for the 2009 season is high in Berkeley with the Golden Bears featuring one of the nation’s top Heisman Trophy candidates in junior tailback Jahvid Best and an experienced starting quarterback in junior Kevin Riley. A total of four players have earned preseason All-American honors and been named to national watch lists: Best, senior defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, sophomore punter Bryan Anger and senior defensive back Syd’Quan Thompson.

The team’s defense returns eight of 11 starters, including its entire defensive line and defensive backfield, from a year ago. All told, Cal has 17 starters back with seven on offense and two specialists accompanying the eight on defense.

Lets support the Cal Blue Out Day – “Be True, Wear Blue”

Folksey