September 5, 2004 in Sports

Bears live up to billing in opener

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Struggling with Air Force’s unbalanced offensive line, California was in danger of another disappointing loss to the Falcons.

A little work on the sidelines and some adjustments at halftime by the Golden Bears turned the game into a rout.

J.J. Arrington ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns and California finally figured out Air Force’s unorthodox scheme, helping the 13th-ranked Bears pull away in the second half for a 56-14 victory Saturday in Air Force Academy, Colo.

Air Force knocked off Cal the last time the Bears were ranked in 2002 and another upset appeared to be brewing when the Falcons were within seven points at halftime.

Unable to figure out Air Force’s unbalanced offensive line — three linemen on one side of the ball, one on the other — the Bears spent much of the first half shifting around trying to decipher where to line up. That usually left the lineman out of position, not a good thing against the disciplined Falcons and their triple-option attack.

Once they worked things out, the Bears dominated the second half.

“They had a formation in the first that we hadn’t seen before and the kids had a hard time getting lined up to it,” Cal defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. “We just got them settled down in the locker room and put all the sets on the board, and we just knew if we could just get aligned right we’d be OK. And that’s what we did. The guys got aligned right and we had a great second half.”

They sure did.

Taking advantage of the confused Bears, Air Force had 214 yards on its first three drives, scoring two touchdowns. But after Cal got itself aligned correctly, the Falcons managed just 12 yards in their next four drives. Air Force finished with 271 total yards — 56 in the second half.

“I thought the first half we played well and moved the ball,” said Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney, who finished with 75 yards on 18 carries and was 9 for 15 for 89 yards passing. “In the second half, credit Cal for making some good adjustments. But there’s no excuse for that. We’ve still got to go out and make plays.”

The defense wasn’t much better, giving up the most points on opening day in school history.

Cal’s offense got off to a quick start and never really slowed. The Bears had touchdowns on their first three possessions and put the game away with five more in the second half. Cal finished with 573 yards to survive a difficult opening road test in a season that started with the school’s highest preseason ranking in 50 years.

“We were just running just the base plays and they just couldn’t stop it,” said Aaron Rodgers, who was an efficient 11 for 16 with no interceptions. “Our line dominated the line of scrimmage and made some huge holes.”

It just took a little while for Cal to shake the pesky Falcons.

Cal used a mix of short passes and runs behind the tackles to move 80 yards in 12 plays on its first drive. Arrington capped it with an 11-yard touchdown run.

Then Air Force did what it does best: control the clock.

With Carney looking more like a veteran than the first freshman quarterback to start on opening day, the Falcons chewed up more than 6 minutes on their first drive. Carney finished off the 17-play, 77-yard march, hitting Robert McMenomy on a 10-yard touchdown pass over the middle.

Cal didn’t waste any time answering, moving 80 yards in eight plays for another Arrington touchdown run from four yards out.

Air Force kept churning away on its next drive until Cal’s Matt Giordano stepped in front of Andy Messerall for an interception at the Bears’ 9-yard line. Arrington went 89 yards up the middle on the next play, setting up Rodgers’ 1-yard touchdown dive that made it 21-7.

But Carney shrugged off the pick, keeping Air Force’s option in a rhythm on an 80-yard drive that ended with fullback Dan Shaffer’s 2-yard touchdown run.

Arrington scored on a 1-yard dive over the top to open the third quarter, then Chase Lyman followed with a 78-yard touchdown catch after cornerback Nate Allen slipped with just over a minute left.

Terrell Williams opened the fourth quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run, Marshawn Lynch scored on a 43-yard run and Justin Forsett capped the 35-point half with a 13-yard touchdown run.

Stanford 43, San Jose St. 3

Trent Edwards threw two touchdown passes to Evan Moore, and Kenneth Tolon rushed for two scores as the Cardinal romped to a victory over the Spartans in Stanford, Calif.

Edwards passed for 187 yards and ran for a TD in the Cardinal’s fourth straight win over the Spartans. In the season opener for both teams, Stanford finished with its largest margin of victory in the Silicon Valley’s rivalry game since winning 44-0 in 1972.

After taking a 15-0 lead into halftime, the Cardinal scored on their first three possessions of the third quarter. San Jose State avoided a shutout with Jeff Carr’s 40-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth.

Moore, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, caught TD passes of 30 and 22 yards in the first half. He was a reserve on Stanford’s basketball team last season, and he’ll compete for significant playing time this fall after the football season finishes.

Though the Cardinal are expected to finish near the bottom of the Pac-10 for the third straight season under coach Buddy Teevens, they’ve returned to dominance in this rivalry following three consecutive victories by San Jose State from 1998-00. Stanford has outscored the Spartans 178-53 since then.

Arizona 21, Northern Arizona 3

The Mike Stoops era at Arizona got off to a winning, if unspectacular, start with a victory over the Lumberjacks in Tucson, Ariz.

Mike Bell carried 31 times for 118 yards for the Wildcats, including touchdown runs of 2 and 9 yards. Kris Heavner completed 18 of 23 passes for 171 yards and a score.

Arizona led 7-3 most of the night against the Division I-AA Lumberjacks before putting the game away with a pair of touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.

Stoops, who as co-defensive coordinator helped his brother Bob build a powerhouse at Oklahoma, was hired to rebuild the Wildcats after the tumultuous tenure of John Mackovic — fired midway through last season.

Arizona defenders intercepted Jason Murrietta three times. Murrietta, the Big Sky Conference player of the year as a freshman last season, completed 20 of 37 passes for 176 yards. Roger Robinson gained 101 yards in 20 carries.

Arizona, 2-10 a year ago, took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in 19 plays, capped by Bell’s 2-yard TD run.

Bell’s fumble on Arizona’s next possession was recovered by Northern Arizona’s Vince Henman at the Wildcats’ 26. Paul Ernster’s 22-yard field goal cut the lead to 7-3 with 13:02 left in the first half.

Arizona didn’t mount another serious drive until the fourth quarter, when Heavner and Steptoe connected on a 37-yard play to the Lumberjacks’ 17. Three plays later, Bell scored from the 9 to make it 14-3 with 9:56 remaining.

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