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Longshore, Lynch lead California win over UCLA

Nov 5, 2006 - 4:33 AM BERKELEY, California (Ticker) -- Nate Longshore, Marshawn Lynch and California did not lose their momentum following a bye week.

Longshore threw three touchdowns and Lynch scored twice as the 10th-ranked Golden Bears remained atop the Pac-10 Conference with a 38-24 victory over struggling UCLA.

California (8-1, 6-0 Pac-10), which won its eighth straight game following a season-opening loss at Tennessee, had not played since a dramatic 31-24 home overtime win over Washington on October 21.

Longshore completed 20-of-24 passes for 266 yards for Cal, which has a one-game lead over Southern California and visits the Trojans on November 18 for a likely Rose Bowl berth.

"(Longshore) was pretty efficient," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "He didn't really force any balls. He threw the ball away a couple times. His incompletions really came on smart plays and throwing the ball away."

"We tried to mix it up and use some formations that we don't normally use," Longshore said. "We were trying to catch them off guard and get ourselves in a situation that was preferable for us."

Cal maintained a four-point edge when UCLA's Justin Medlock missed his second field goal of the contest, a 44-yarder with 9 1/2 minutes to play in the third quarter. Longshore promptly took advantage, hooking up with Robert Jordan for a 44-yard TD and a 21-0 lead with 7:38 left in the period.

It was the second touchdown of the game for Jordan, who had five catches for 86 yards.

Five minutes later, electric Bears sophomore DeSean Jackson scored on a 72-yard punt return and, following an interception by cornerback Daymeion Hughes, Lynch made it 35-10 with a four-yard run with 11:09 remaining.

Jackson's punt return was set up by a crunching block by safety Thomas DeCoud on Korey Bosworth that temporarily knocked out both players.

"After the hit, I was dazed and I fell down," DeCoud said. "I didn't know he scored until I made it back to the sidelines. I saw he was excited so I put one and one together."

"Number one, it created a lane for DeSean to hit a seam," Tedford said. "That was great hustle by Thomas. He was hustling to get there and make a key block. I'm just happy that they're both OK. But it was a huge play, a huge hit."

Making his fourth start in place of the injured Ben Olson, Patrick Cowan went 22-of-40 for 329 yards and ran for a touchdown for UCLA (4-5, 2-4), which has dropped four straight games. He was intercepted twice.

"Though we had a loss today, our team was so close and so strong together," Cowan said. "You know, we've faced a lot of adversity this season and it's just amazing how everyone's staying positive. The team's moving in the right direction."

Chris Markey rushed 20 times for 136 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, and had six catches for 63 yards for UCLA, which outgained Cal, 516-433.

"Our players played hard," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. "It was unfortunate that we had two interceptions and couldn't put points on the board. I think we showed some growth with this offense. It wasn't the best execution but it was progress."

The teams had split their previous six meetings, with UCLA posting a 47-40 home win last year.