Football:
Longshore's Late Pick Drops Cal Once Again

For the last minute of Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium, quarterback Nate Longshore was on the sidelines, watching helplessly as the USC offense knelt the remaining time away to give the Cal football team a 24-17 loss, its fourth in five games.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the Bears had done wrong to turn what was once a season full of expectations into one with four losses and now a bowl game invitation in question.

But he was sure about one thing.

“I haven’t been playing well enough for us to win,” Longshore said. “That’s what it comes down to. I’ll be the first one to say it.”

Trailing the No. 12 Trojans by a touchdown with less than four minutes left in the game, Longshore completed a pass to tailback Justin Forsett in the flat. Forsett broke out for an electrifying 34-yard run down the right sideline to the 36-yard line.

But the big gain was rendered meaningless when, on the next play, USC cornerback Terrell Thomas stepped in front of wideout Robert Jordan for the pick, Longshore’s second of the night.

“I take the responsibility on myself. Down the stretch I needed to play better to give us a chance to win,” said Longshore, who finished the game with 199 yards but went 2-for-7 for 43 yards in the fourth quarter. “Justin ran his heart out, he was running well all night. I just couldn’t get the passing game going and when it mattered during the fourth quarter, I was struggling and you can’t win by doing that.”

In a situation that was reminiscent of last year’s game at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the No. 24 Bears (6-4, 3-4 in the Pac-10) once again found themselves tied with the Trojans (8-2, 5-2) going into the last stanza, 17-17, after Lavelle Hawkins’ diving 20-yard touchdown catch.

But with 12:24 left on the clock, USC put together a 10-play, 96-yard drive that ended with a rushing touchdown by tailback Stafon Johnson from the 3-yard line.

It was the story of the game for the Cal defense, which was often unable to stop the Trojans’ ground game that racked up 239 yards with two rushing touchdowns, the second of which was all USC would need to escape Memorial Stadium with a victory.

“We got a little worn down. We probably weren’t getting blocks like we should have in the first half,” defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. “They’re pretty good up front. I probably need to make a couple better calls to put our guys in a better position.”

The Bears inability to stop the run may well have provided the nail in the coffin.

With USC on 3rd-and-2 with 1:36 to play after Thomas’ pick, Cal linebacker Zack Follett made a play for the ball, diving at Johnson’s feet after he took the handoff. Johnson, however, was just able to avoid the tackle, and managed to gain two yards for the first down, effectively dashing any hopes for a possible last-minute comeback.

While Johnson’s two-yard run was the ultimate clincher for the Trojans, it was Chauncey Washington who did most of the damage on the ground.

With quarterback John David Booty struggling to hit his receivers throughout the game, Washington carried the offense with 221 yards on the ground, averaging a stunning 7.6 yards per carry. His 36-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put the Trojans up for good, 14-10.

“They're big and physical up front, and Washington is a big back that runs hard,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “He doesn't go down with arm tackles. You saw how he carried the pile. He's a great running back. Obviously, those were big plays in the running game.”

For his part, Forsett also led a successful rushing attack for the Bears, finishing the game with 164 yards on 31 carries. The senior put Cal on the board in the first quarter with a 17-yard touchdown run.

But Forsett had his struggles as well, most notably midway through the second quarter when he was stopped from the 2- and 1-yard line two consecutive times.

The effect of the loss was twofold—seniors like Hawkins, Jordan and Forsett walked off the turf of Memorial Stadium for the last time—and without having beaten USC once.

“We had fun out there, we played hard,” Forsett said. “It’s just sad to go through the tunnel the last time and leave here with a loss.”

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