California Golden Bears Roll on in 2006

The California Golden Bears came into the 2006 college football season ranked ninth in the country, which was their best preseason ranking since 1952. Their high ranking appeared dubious after an opening game loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. Cal lost 35-18 to Tennessee and appeared to be overmatched against the Volunteers. In fact, the final score is a little deceptive, and doesn't truly indicate how badly they were beaten. At one point, Tennessee led California by the score of 35-0. Cal's offense could not move the ball, and they did not score a touchdown until the fourth quarter. The California Golden Bears returned to Berkeley with an 0-1 record and slipped out of the top 20 in the rankings. Cal's high hopes for the 2006 season were quickly being deflated.

Cal rebounded in week two with a 42-17 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Cal's offense appeared to be back on track, led by quarterback Nate Longshore's four touchdown passes and Marshawn Lynch's two rushing touchdowns. Cal improved their record to 1-1 and licked their wounds from their opening week loss to Tennessee.

The California Golden Bears continued to rebound by beating Portland State 42-16 in their next game. The Bears once again looked sharp on offense, and regained their confidence heading into their Pac-10 schedule with a record of 2-1.

Cal's next opponent was Arizona State, who was also ranked in the top 25 at the time. Facing their biggest test since the loss to Tennessee, Cal rose to the occasion with a 49-21 win over the Sun Devils. Cal dominated Arizona State from the opening kickoff, and led 42-14 by halftime. Nate Longshore threw four touchdown passes, and Cal also scored touchdowns on both a punt return and an interception. The California Golden Bears were gaining momentum, and appeared to be a different team from the one that was outplayed in Knoxville.

Cal was 3-1 heading into their game against the Oregon State Beavers. As expected, Cal rolled over Oregon State with a 41-13 victory. Once again, Cal's offense was firing on all cylinders, and was led by Nate Longshore and Marshawn Lynch. Longshore passed for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. Lynch caught two touchdown passes and ran for another, accumulating 165 yards of total offense. Cal improved to 4-1 with their win over Oregon State and moved up to #16 in the polls.

Cal's next contest was against the #11 ranked Oregon Ducks. The Cal faithful weren't sure what to expect. Would Cal continue to roll, like they did against Arizona State? Or, would they stumble, like they did in Tennessee? The California Golden Bears answered with their loudest statement of the 2006 season. Cal rolled to a 45-24 victory over the higher-ranked Oregon Ducks. Cal's offense was sharp as usual, but their defense was equally impressive. Cal's defense contained the high-powered Oregon offense, and Cal dealt Oregon their first loss of the season. Cal improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-10. The Golden Bears also moved up to 10th in the rankings.

Cal faces all unranked opponents in their next four contests. If the Golden Bears can get through these games without a blemish, they will face USC on November 18th with the Pac-10 title on the line. Behind Coach Jeff Tedford's high-octane offense, I like Cal's chances against USC. If Cal can pull off the upset over USC, the Golden Bears would have an outside shot at the national title. Cal would need some help along the way, with losses from other top 10 teams, but it's still a remote possibility. After their loss to Tennessee in week one, nobody could have imagined Cal would return to the top 10 this season. However, here they are. November should be an exciting month for Bears fans. If they are lucky, December and January could be exciting months also.

Update: Cal beat Washington State by the score of 21-3. They are now ranked 11th in the country with a 6-1 overall record. Cal is tied for first in the Pac-10 with a 4-0 conference record.