Minnesota 17, California 42

1234T
MINN (1-1)7100017
CAL (1-1)7217742

Final

7:00 PM ET, September 9, 2006
Memorial Stadium
BERKELEY, CA

Cal rebounds from Week 1 trouncing, buries Minnesota

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Top 25 Overview
It was over when... Cal RB Marshawn Lynch scored on a 5-yard run to give the Bears a 35-17 lead in the third quarter.
Gameball goes to... Nate Longshore. The Cal QB, maligned after the blowout loss at Tennessee, went 25 of 34 for 320 yards and 4 TDs.
Stat of the game... 17-1: The Gophers lost a non-conference game for the first time in their last 18 tries.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1831
Total Yards352539
Passing243300
Rushing109239
Penalties9-1006-61
3rd Down Conversions3-118-13
4th Down Conversions1-22-2
Turnovers21
Possession25:4634:14
Individual Leaders
Minnesota Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Cupito21/3324302
California Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Longshor...22/3130040
Minnesota Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Daniels2178112
Pinnix517012
Cupito4809
California Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Lynch27139215
Forsett1277018
Longshore41509
Minnesota Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Spaeth691048
Payne654018
Chambers349019
Daniels315020
California Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Hawkins9125042
Jackson7114348
Jordan443124
Beegun1909
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERMINNCAL
TD11:21ALEX DANIELS 1 YD RUN (JASON GIANNINI KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 71 yards.
70
TD7:11ROBERT JORDAN 24 YD PASS FROM NATHAN LONGSHORE (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Drive info: 9 plays, 67 yards.
77
SECOND QUARTERMINNCAL
TD14:58DESEAN JACKSON 2 YD PASS FROM NATHAN LONGSHORE (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Drive info: 4 plays, 59 yards.
714
TD14:41DOMINIC JONES 99 YD KICK RETURN (JASON GIANNINI KICK)1414
TD7:17DESEAN JACKSON 48 YD PASS FROM NATHAN LONGSHORE (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Drive info: 8 plays, 96 yards.
1421
TD4:34DESEAN JACKSON 11 YD PASS FROM NATHAN LONGSHORE (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 52 yards.
1428
FG0:00JASON GIANNINI 34 YD FG
Drive info: 12 plays, 65 yards.
1728
THIRD QUARTERMINNCAL
TD5:31MARSHAWN LYNCH 5 YD RUN (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Drive info: 14 plays, 79 yards.
1735
FOURTH QUARTERMINNCAL
TD2:51MARSHAWN LYNCH 1 YD RUN (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Drive info: 16 plays, 78 yards.
1742

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- DeSean Jackson almost chuckled as he lined up against Minnesota's single coverage. One play-action fake and 40 yards later, the speedy California receiver reached over his shoulder to grab Nate Longshore's perfect touchdown pass.

Cal's offense was supposed to score this impressively -- and after a false start in last week's season-opening loss, everything was just as good as the Golden Bears expected.

Jackson caught three of Longshore's four touchdown passes in the first half, and No. 22 Cal rebounded from its Tennessee debacle with a 42-17 victory over the frustrated Gophers on Saturday.

Marshawn Lynch rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and Jackson caught seven passes for 114 yards, including that 48-yard pass that fell straight into his arms. Jackson, the sophomore who led the Bears last season with seven TD catches, already has four in the first two games this year, along with a handful of spectacular nonscoring grabs.

"Our tight ends and receivers, you've got to respect us a little more than that," Jackson said. "(That catch) was like taking candy from a baby."

Indeed, the Bears (1-1) showed off all the offensive talent that attracted their highest preseason ranking in 54 years before their 35-18 defeat in Knoxville, knocking them 13 spots down the poll.

"They're a pretty resilient group, and they worked hard in practice," coach Jeff Tedford said. "They didn't have a hangover from last week. They knew that last week wasn't us. Maybe now we can stop talking about it."

Lavelle Hawkins had career highs of nine catches for 125 yards, and Robert Jordan also caught a TD pass in Cal's sharp passing game.

"You knew they were some good backs," Minnesota linebacker John Shevlin said. "I'm not an NFL scout, but these guys could be making millions soon."

Dominic Jones returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score for the Gophers (1-1), whose 17-game winning streak against nonconference opponents -- longest in the Big Ten -- ended.

The Bears were the first ranked nonconference opponent in coach Glen Mason's cupcake-filled 10 seasons at Minnesota, which beat lowly Kent State 44-0 last week and faces Temple and Division I-AA North Dakota State later.

Lynch fumbled and committed a foolish personal foul, but the Heisman-hyped tailback also had 27 carries while wearing down Minnesota's defense. The Gophers yielded 531 yards -- 371 in the first half -- in the schools' first meeting in 19 years.

"If you're going to play tackle football, then you have to tackle," Mason said. "That was our biggest mistake. We didn't get them on the ground. I can't remember when we tackled worse in a ballgame."

The offense wasn't much better, failing to get in the end zone after Alex Daniels' TD plunge capped a 71-yard drive just 3½ minutes in. Daniels rushed for 78 yards and a score, while Bryan Cupito went 21-for-33 for 243 yards with two interceptions by star Cal cornerback Daymeion Hughes.

Longshore struggled and eventually got pulled in Knoxville, but was much better in his first home start since his freshman season ended with a broken leg in last September's opener. He went 22-of-31 for 300 yards, patiently picking apart the Gophers' defense on the way to a 28-14 halftime lead.

"I finally made it through a game," he laughed. "I'd never played a fourth quarter before, and it was exciting."

Cal went ahead in the first quarter when Minnesota safety Dominick Barber tipped an overthrown pass straight to Hawkins, who snagged it for a 42-yard gain to set up Jackson's 2-yard TD slant catch.

Jones, a sophomore safety, returned the ensuing kickoff for a score, cutting straight through Cal's coverage team in full stride for his first TD -- Minnesota's first on a kickoff return in three years.

Lynch fumbled on the Bears' next possession, but the Bears made a 96-yard scoring drive later in the quarter with Jackson's over-the-shoulder scoring catch. Jackson caught another short TD pass with 4:34 left in the first half.

The Cal student section began to chant Jackson's name, and he responded with a towel-waving celebration in front of the bench.

A thick fog settled onto Memorial Stadium in the fourth quarter, gathering around the temporary light stanchions in Strawberry Canyon while Lynch bulled into the end zone for Cal's final score with 2:51 to play.

Brandon Mebane and Mickey Pimentel sacked Cupito in the closing moments, ending Minnesota's streak of eight games without allowing a sack.

"I played terribly, and it cost us," Cupito said. "I think it's been two years since I played that bad."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Thursday, September 7th
Oregon State 14 Final
Boise State 42
Saturday, September 9th
Washington 20 Final
Oklahoma 37
Idaho 10 Final
Washington State 56
Stanford 34 Final
San Jose State 35
Arizona 3 Final
LSU 45
Minnesota 17 Final
California 42
Nevada 21 Final
Arizona State 52
Rice 16 Final
UCLA 26
Oregon 31 Final
Fresno State 24