Bear Bits: Failed PAT Conspiracy, New Recruit, and a Painful Reminder

A few Bear bits from around the web.

Failed PAT Conspiracy?
Hydrotech at the California Golden Blogs has a great writeup regarding the rumor that Nate Longshore had called his own number and attempted to fake the point after during the Big Game, against the knowledge or permission of well…anyone on the team really. I mentioned this on the Bearinsider forum, but it’s really, really hard for me to believe that someone who has been so “team above self” all season would crack Britney Spears style and attempt such a boneheaded endeavor.

I posted my thoughts on the CGB board as well:

“Coaches’ reactions. Does Jeff Tedford strike anyone as the type to have just let Nate off with a “tsk tsk tsk” scold on the sideline had he attempted these shenanigans? Or any other coach on the staff for that matter?

This is the same Tedford who yanked Levy by the facemask on national television. He verbally raped a coach on his staff after they had to burn two timeouts to Washington State in garbage time. Tedford does not F around.

Also, from what I could see, Alamar just had his hands on his hips after the botched attempt with a “Oh Nate! You silly goose!” type of reaction when Longshore ran back to the sidelines.
The fact that Tedford already publicly stated that Longshore might get some snaps during the Washington game is telling enough.”

But don’t take it from me. Hydro has actually taken the time to break it down, so it’s worth a look to hopefully but to rest a ridiculous rumor.

Oregon vs. Oregon State Playbook: The Recipe for a 100 points
Speaking of in-depth analysis, ‘Nash at BearsNecessity has a detailed look at the Civil War Playbook that resulted in 103 combined points.

Another Recruit: Jared Price
Cal picked up its 8th commitment of the year from JC Linebacker Jared Price who had committed to Cal earlier in the summer, before opening up his recruitment again a short time later. This time, it’s for real, with the Blinn College LB having reaffirmed his commitment to the Bears.

While undersized (5’10 220lbs) for a linebacker, the 2 star recruit (according to Scout.com) has been an absolute beast of a player for Blinn College, already recording 18 sacks on the year. Blinn defensive line coach Keith Browning says of Price:

"Jarred is a great athlete with tremendous strength and quickness. He runs a 4.51 forty, benches 375 lbs, squats 550, has close to a 40-inch vertical and is very explosive. He understands the game and can get to the QB."

The Bear Insider has a great story up on Price.


Really really smart
Four Bears players have been name to the All-Academic Pac-10 Team: Zach Smith, Alex Mack, Mark Boskovich, and Mike Mohammed. Mitchell Schwartz and Will Ta’ufo’ou were deemed “pretty smart, but not quite smart enough” with honorable mentions.

Need another reason to get up for the Washington Game?
Just try and remember (painful I know) what Washington did to Cal on the ground last year—without Jake Locker. The Huskies ran for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns. Louis Rankin rushed for 224 yards, with 125 of those yards coming in the first quarter. After having his way with the Bears, Ranking let his backup Brandon Johnson embarrass the Bears even further with 121 yards. That’s nearly as many yards as Johnson has all season this year.

The Huskies ended up breaking a 5 game losing streak to the Bears with a 37-23 victory. In a season full of lows, the Washington game was one of the most dreadful.