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Sept. 15, 2010
BERKELEY - The Cal football coaches have been honored with the defensive staff award by FootballScoop.com for the performance of the Golden Bears defense in a 52-7 win over Colorado at Memorial Stadium last Saturday. The Cal defense forced five turnovers that led to 31 points, including a pair of defensive touchdowns on an 82-yard fumble return by Darian Hagan and a 41-yard interception return by Mike Mohamed. The five takeaways were the most by a Cal defense since picking off five Washington passes at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 21, 2006. "The defense played excellent," head coach Jeff Tedford said after the victory over Colorado. "Down within the 5-yard line they were very stubborn and knocked them back. I thought we did a very good job ... We played pass defense really well and we stopped the run. (The defense) played really hard, and you like to see that." "The defense was very stingy today," he added. "I thought in the first half Colorado had really poor field position. The defense did a really nice job not letting them out of there." The Bears allowed only 241 yards of total offense (-8 in the first quarter) against Colorado and continue to be the nation's top-ranked team in total defense (161.0 ypg). The Bears had allowed only 81 yards of total offense in a season-opening 52-3 win over UC Davis on Sept. 4, marking the first time Cal had held an opponent to fewer than 150 yards of total offense since San Jose State totaled 147 at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 1, 1994. Cal is also ranked among the nation's top 10 in rushing defense (No. 3, 44.5), pass efficiency defense (No. 3, 67.62) and scoring defense (No. 4, 5.0 ppg) and sacks (4.0 spg), while also playing a key role in the squad's No. 6 national ranking in turnover margin (+2.5 per game, six takeaways, one giveaway).
The 10 points the defense has allowed in the first two games of 2010 is the fewest since the "Bear Minimum" defense of 1968 gave up only seven points in its first two contests of the campaign. Cal had not previously held opponents to less than 10 points in back-to-back games since 2004, when the Bears shut out Arizona, 38-0, in Tucson (Oct. 23) and Arizona State, 27-0, in Berkeley (Oct. 30). The last time Cal has held opponents to less than 10 points in three straight games came in the first three contests of the 1968 campaign, when the Bears defeated Michigan (21-7), Colorado (10-0) and San Jose State (46-0). The nation's top-ranked Cal defense will go up against the country's leader in total offense in an intriguing nationally televised ESPN2 contest at Nevada this Friday, Sept. 17 (7:05 p.m. PT). Nevada's coaching staff earned CoachingScoop.com's offensive staff of the week honors after rolling up 631 yards of total offense in a 51-6 victory over Colorado State last Saturday. The Wolf Pack is averaging 592.0 yards of total offense per game in its first two contests, with a balanced attack that ranks sixth nationally in rushing offense (295.0 ypg) and 18th in passing offense (297.0 ypg). Season tickets are still on sale with all five Cal's remaining Pac-10 home games still on the docket against UCLA (Oct. 9), Arizona State (Oct. 23), Oregon (Nov. 13), Stanford (Nov. 20) and Washington (Nov. 27). Season tickets in the Gold Zone and Blue Zone begin at $115 for youth and seniors, while season tickets also remain in the donor section comprising the best seats in the house. This year will be Cal's final season in the current configuration of Memorial Stadium. The Golden Bears will play their 2011 home campaign at San Francisco's AT&T Park before returning to a renovated Memorial Stadium in 2012. Call the Cal Athletic Ticket Office at (800) GO BEARS or visit CalBears.com to purchase your 2010 Cal football tickets now. 2010 REMAINING CAL FOOTBALL HOME SCHEDULE Day, Date - Opponent - Time (TV) |
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