Cal’s new offense clicks

BERKELEY, Calif. – Kevin Riley passed for 202 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and Shane Vereen broke an 81-yard scoring run with 4 minutes, 21 seconds left in California ’s 38-31 victory over Michigan State on Saturday night.

Jahvid Best rushed for 111 yards and a score, while tight end Cameron Morrah and fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou caught Riley’s TD passes in a solid debut for the Golden Bears’ new collection of starting offensive skill players.

Brian Hoyer passed for 321 yards, hooking up with Mark Dell for nine catches and 202 yards, the fifth-biggest yardage total for a receiver in Michigan State history. Javon Ringer rushed for 81 yards and two TDs, but the Spartans couldn’t catch up in a back-and-forth second half featuring 45 total points and 503 yards of total offense.

Bryant Nnabuife returned a blocked punt for the first score as Cal won for the fifth time in seven openers under coach Jeff Tedford. Cal rebuilt its entire offense in the wake of its second-half collapse during a 7-6 campaign last year.

Otis Wiley returned an interception 31 yards for an early TD for the Spartans, whose trip to the West Coast was a long-delayed return of the Golden Bears’ visit to East Lansing in 2002.