Are the California Golden Bears the second-best team in the Pacific-10 Conference? Cal head coach and former Oregon offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford has made a strong case, as the Bears are currently in the top 25 in total defense (301 yards per game allowed) and scoring offense (38 points per game). An early-season loss to mercurial Maryland knocked Cal out of the national rankings, and the Bears were knocked back out against Arizona, but a win against Oregon may put them back in the rankings. After facing the Ducks, Tedford’s charges will play at USC and Oregon State before returning home for the Big Game against Stanford.
One reason for the Bears’ overall inconsistency was the inconsistency at quarterback, but Kevin Riley is the likely starter against the Ducks. Riley, a Beaverton native, has been fighting senior Nate Longshore for the starting job since last season and turned the tide in his favor with a three-touchdown performance against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. This season, Riley has completed 80 of 150 passes for 985 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Longshore has the better completion percentage in 91 attempts but has registered a touchdown-to-interception ratio of seven to four.
Meanwhile, sophomore running back Jahvid Best has emerged as one of the best at his position in the Pac-10. Best, who missed the Bears’ win against Arizona State due to an elbow injury, broke out in Cal’s opener against Michigan State with 111 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He followed that performance up with 200 yards and three touchdowns in a 66-3 blowout of Washington State. Best is currently averaging 107 rushing yards per game and seven yards per carry.
Behind him, redshirt freshman running back Shane Vereen has been a revelation. Vereen is averaging 70 yards a game on the ground on 6.2 yards per carry, with an 81-yard touchdown run against Michigan State signaling his arrival.
Not only are Best and Vereen the top two rushers for the Bears, they are also the second- and third-leading receivers, respectively. Junior tight end Cameron Morrah has been the top target for Riley and Longshore this season, with 20 receptions for 259 yards and six scores. Junior wide receiver and Florida transfer Nyan Boateng is the top pass-catcher among wideouts, and he leads the team in receiving yards (268).
Defensively, Cal employs a scheme with three down defensive linemen and four linebackers that will test Oregon’s offensive line, which up to this point has seen teams predominantly use four down linemen. And the Bears have been stifling at times, ranking 12th in the nation in rushing defense, eighth in third-down defense and third in turnover margin.
Appropriately, four of the Bears’ top five tacklers are linebackers – Anthony Felder, Mike Mohamed (the reigning Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week), Zack Follett and Worrell Williams. Follett, a 2007 All-Pac-10 second-team selection, is the best of the bunch and has recorded 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks thus far in the season. Junior cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson, a three-year starter, leads the Bears with three interceptions and 11 passes defended.
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