Stanford lost two high-profile recruits over the weekend.

1) 4-star, #11 Tight End prospect (79 espn rating) Blake Barker to Harvard
2) Under-Armour All-American, 4-star, and Top-100 prospect Tai-ler Jones to Notre Dame

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/school?schoolId=87&page=briefingroom&season=2010&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fschool%3fschoolId%3d87%26page%3dbriefingroom%26season%3d2010

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/school?page=briefingroom&season=2010&schoolId=24&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fschool%3fpage%3dbriefingroom%26season%3d2010%26schoolId%3d24

http://espn.go.com/college-football/bcs

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Boise St
5. Cincinnati

the Pac-10 checked in at #7 USC, #11 Oregon, & #22 Arizona. The computers don’t seem to like SC much.

I think the Ducks should be in a BCS bowl as long as USC-Oregon is a competitive game. Purdue beating tOSU has to strengthen their schedule a bit.

If the Irish win out, will they gain BCS bowl eligibility? You know the bowls would love to pick the Irish even if they lose by 30.

Football players honored:

ATLANTA – Cal football players P Bryan Anger, TB Jahvid Best and TB Shane Vereen were honored Sunday by the College Football Performance Awards for their performances in Saturday’s game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Anger was named the CFPA’s Punter of the Week, while Best and Vereen both earned honorable mention Running Back of the Week selections.


Anger averaged a season-best 50.0 yards on a season-high-tying seven punts in Cal’s 45-26 win over the Bruins. He had four punts of 51 or more yards, including a season-long 72-yarder that was his fourth career punt of 70 yards or better.

Best had both the longest rush and the longest reception of his career in the second quarter, catching a 51-yard pass from QB Kevin Riley for his first score of the period and then breaking loose for a 93-yard touchdown run two Cal drivers later. He finished with his 12th career 100-yard rushing game, totaling 102 yards on 18 carries and added two receptions for 51 yards.

Vereen set new career-highs for both rushing yards and all-purpose running yards, picking up 154 of his 230 all-purpose yards on the ground on 17 carries. He added 20 yards on two receptions, while also brining back two kicks for 46 yards and two punts for 10. Vereen scored the game’s opening touchdown on a 42-yard sprint in the first quarter.

Womens tennis player wins the White Flight Invitational Singles Title (Is that the real name?!?!?!?!?!):

MORAGA, Calif. – California women’s tennis senior Kasia Siwosz won her fifth consecutive match to claim the White Flight singles crown at the 2009 Saint Mary’s Invitational Sunday, Oct. 18, at the Timothy Korth Tennis Complex. The Polish native pushed her singles record as a Golden Bear to 8-1 as she defeated Carmen Pham of Santa Clara, 6-0, 6-1, in the semifinal before taking out Stanford’s Jennifer Yen, 6-4, 6-2, in the final.

Cal players got three more wins in consolation matches as freshman Nelly Radeva secured a 6-2, 6-2, win over Rika Mehndiratta of Gonzaga; freshman Tayler Davis grinded out a three-set win over Laura Pola of Fresno State, 7-6(2), 2-6, 1-0(8); and Davis and Radeva teamed up to take out Pola and Melissa McQueen, 8-2, in a doubles consolation match. Sophomore Catalina Visico struggled with Ashley Anderson of Washington as she fell, 6-1, 6-0.

For complete results, draws and schedules, please visit www.tennisinformation.com and search for tournament ID No. 5192776.

Mens soccer loses to SDSU:

SAN DIEGO – No. 10/13 California lost to San Diego State, 2-1, in overtime on Morgan Sacco’s 100th-minute golden goal on Sunday at SDSU Sports Deck. Golden Bears junior defender A.J. Soares had converted a penalty kick late in regulation to send the match to overtime tied at 1-1. After its second straight Pac-10 Conference loss, Cal’s record fell to 8-5-0 (2-3-0 Pac-10). San Diego State improved to 4-4-4 (1-2-2).

Cal outshot the Aztecs, 8-6, in a nevertheless scoreless first half. Each side had its share of scoring chances, including junior midfielder Hector Jimenez’s 36th-minute shot that San Diego State goalkeeper Brad Byrns saved. In the 38th minute, Sacco ripped a low shot that Cal sophomore goalkeeper David Bingham likewise saved.

Junior midfielder Demitrius Omphroy made some nice moves to get through the SDSU defense and fire a shot that forced a diving shot out of Byrns in the 40th minute. Omphroy generated another shot on goal in the 41st minute, with a ball that deflected off an Aztecs defender and wound up in Byrns’ grasp.

SDSU’s Steve Beitashour fired a shot from 22 yards that Bingham saved 20 seconds from halftime.

Beitashour and teammate Justin Davies assisted on their team’s first goal in the 78th minute, as Beitashour dribbled into the Cal box and passed to Davies, who one-touched the ball back to Raymundo Reza. The Aztecs forward scored from 12 yards out to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Field hockey beats Pacific:

BERKELEY – Three Golden Bears scored their first goal of the season, as the California field hockey team defeated Pacific, 4-1, Sunday afternoon at Maxwell Family Field. On the season, Cal is now 5-9, 3-1 in the NorPac Conference. Pacific falls to 3-7, 2-2. Today’s game marked the final appearance at Maxwell for forward Natalie Nurnberg and defender Sophie Sproats.

The Tigers struck first with a goal in the sixth minute. Lisa Muhl converted on a penalty corner. Katy Mcdonough and Brianna Cummins recorded the assists. Pacific had all the momentum in the first 10 minutes of the game and had the Bears reeling.

“I started thinking, it was the trip and this and that,” head coach Shellie Onstead said. “They got their feet under them a little bit. We talked about it in the pregame that Pacific will come at you like that, and we have to be able to handle it. We got on our heels a bit. We got it under control, but those first 10 minutes were not fun.”

The momentum changed when junior Lisa Lohre converted on a penalty stroke in the 17th minute to tie the match at one heading into halftime. It was Lohre’s first score of 2009.

Redshirt freshman Claire Dougherty scored her first goal of the season in the 44th minute, which also proved to be the eventual gamewinner. She deflected a shot from freshman Laura Spellman into the cage. Dougherty led all players with two shots on goal and tied with Nurnberg with four shots all together. In addition to her assist on Cal’s second goal, Spellman also notched her first goal of the season in the 67th minute.

Womens soccer loses to USC:

BERKELEY – The No. 17 California women’s soccer team scored two goals in the second half to tie No. 9 USC, 2-2, at the end of regulation, but could not score in overtime and USC (11-4-0 overall, 3-1-0 in the Pac-10) won the 3-2 overtime decision over Cal (8-5-1, 2-2-0 Pac-10) on Sunday afternoon at Edwards Stadium. Sophomore defender/forward Miranda White scored first for the Bears and junior forward Alex Morgan netted the second. A 2009 season-high 753 fans came out to Sunday’s Pac-10 match.

“I think we had chance after chance,” Cal head coach Neil McGuire said. “USC’s goalkeeper came up big for them. We knew that we were always going to be susceptible to the counter attack off them with all the pressure, and they got the goal. I think we deserve something from this game, as we did against UCLA. It’s a real tough loss.”

Just under 19 minutes into the match, USC scored its first goal from Ashley Freyer when Marihelem Tomer crossed it to Freyer from the end line. In the 31st minute, Alyssa Davila took a shot on goal and Cal keeper Rosie Aguilera got hand but it tipped in for the Trojans’ second score. With USC leading, 2-0, the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.

Mens water polo beats Santa Clara:

The No. 2-ranked Cal men’s water polo team (13-4) scored the first eight goals of the match on the way to a 13-9 victory over No. 16-ranked Santa Clara (13-7) in a non-conference contest Sunday, Oct. 18 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears were led by sophomore Ivan Rackov’s three goals and two goals apiece by senior captain Spencer Warden, junior Zach White and sophomores Luka Saponjic and Charlie Steffens.

Cal outscored the Broncos, 4-0, in the first period behind goals from White, Rackov, Saponjic and Warden. Rackov, the Bears’ leading scorer on the year with 36 goals in 17 matches, then tallied the next two goals in the beginning of the second period, followed by goals from redshirt freshman Mason Cox and Steffens to give Cal an 8-0 advantage. Finally, Santa Clara’s Liam Farrell broke the Bears’ scoring run with a goal with 1:18 left in the first half.

The Broncos made a comeback in the third period, outscoring Cal, 5-4, paced by senior Jack Wall’s team-high three goals, including a last second shot to end the third quarter. Santa Clara also scored the first three goals of the fourth period to get within, 12-9, before Warden gave the Bears’ their 13th goal of the match with 1:08 left in the contest for the final 13-9 margin.

VBall pounds Beavs:

CORVALLIS, Ore. – California volleyball head coach Rich Feller recorded his 500th career victory as the No. 14-ranked Golden Bears swept Oregon State, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22, tonight (Oct. 17) at Gill Coliseum. Cal improved to 10-7 on the year (3-4 Pac-10) and sent the Beavers to 11-8 (2-5 Pac-10). Senior outside hitter Hana Cutura led all players with 20 kills (5e, 47att, .319) and logged her fifth double-double of the season with 12 digs.

Sophomore outside hitter Tarah Murrey was second on the team with 13 kills (5e, 32att, .250) and posted her fourth double-double of the season with 13 digs. Junior setter Carli Lloyd also had a double-double as she put up 13 digs and 38 assists to move ahead of Candace McNamee (1998-01) into fourth all-time in career assists at Cal, now with 3,641. On her 21st birthday, senior libero Kristen Kathan led all players with 19 digs and is just two digs shy of moving into fourth place all-time at Cal. Freshman opposite hitter Correy Johnson had seven kills (4e, 16att, .188).

As a team, the Bears posted a .230 attack percentage in the match and had 49 kills (20e, 126att) while holding the Beavers to a .142 attack rate with 40 kills (21e, 134att). Cal also out-dug Oregon State, 61-49, in the match. Beaver senior outside hitter Rachel Rourke led her team with 19 kills (7e, 43att, .279) with senior middle hitter Lexie Rathgeber putting in nine kills (3e, 26att, .231).

The Bears held the first lead of the third set but Oregon State battled back to tie the score at eight-all before the Beavers ran ahead by three points at 14-11 as junior outside hitter Jill Sawatzky earned a service ace off a let serve. Cal continued to plug away and pulled into a 16-all tie as Cutura scored two kills. Oregon State got ahead by two points again but Murrey blasted two attacks down the line for consecutive kills to knot the set for the eighth time at 19-all. The Bears regained the lead at 21-20 as Lloyd and Wiley teamed up to stuff Sawatzky’s attack before Murrey posted her 13th kill of the night off the Beaver block. Sawatzky’s attack error put the Bears up by three points at 24-21 but it was Cutura who logged her 20th kill of the night on a cross-court shot to seal the 3-0 win for the Bears. Cal was aggressive offensively to post a .179 attack rate in the final stanza with 15 kills (8e, 39att) but it was the Bear defense that did a number on Oregon State to hold the Beavers to a .068 attack percentage (12k, 9e, 44att).

Womens golf finishes 10th at Stanford tourney:

The No. 7 California Golden Bears women’s golf team finished in a tie for tenth place at the Stanford Intercollegiate, with action wrapping up on Sunday, Oct. 18.

The Bears were in tenth after 18 and 36 holes, and slipped into a tie for tenth despite dropping three strokes from their second round total. The tournament, being played on the Stanford University campus at the Stanford Golf Course, a 6,156-yard, par 71 course that will also serve as host to the 2010 NCAA West Regional, had two days of perfect golf weather, bright and sunny, with temperatures in the 70’s. The final round, however, had an hour delay mid-round while the teams waited for fog to lift.

Cal was paced by sophomore Joanne Lee. Lee shook off a tough first round where she shot a 76 to turn in two great rounds, a one-under 70 on Saturday followed by a 68 (-3) on Sunday. She finished at +1 for the tournament, tying her for 13th place. Junior Pia Halbig finished a stroke behind at +2 for the tournament, tying for 17th place.

Arizona State won the team title, posting a -12. Jennifer Song of USC was the top individual, finishing the tourney at eight-under.

XC gets 13th at Pre-National Meet:

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Sophomore Deborah Maier came in 13th among 247 runners to lead the Cal women’s cross country team to a 13th-place in the white division of the Pre-National Invitational Saturday morning. The Golden Bear men also took the 18th spot in the blue division of the men’s competition.

“Both men and women races didn’t finish as well as we had hoped, especially since we were in good position early,” head coach Tony Sandoval said. “I was pleased that we started so well and had a good packing half way into the race for both genders. We fell back in the last 1,200 meters or so and that effected both scores. We have time to fix finishing better for Pac-10’s and regionals and were encouraged from today. The men have an additional challenge (especially the freshmen) to prepare for the longer distance of 10,000 at regionals and NCAA’s.”

The women’s race featured 37 total teams, including 11 that ranked among the nation’s top 30, and Cal placed ahead of two ranked programs – No. 12 Baylor, which finished 20th, and No. 27 Northern Arizona, which was 14th.

Mens swimming competes at Pacific:

The California men’s swimming team won the 200 free relay and junior standout Nathan Adrian captured the 100 freestyle Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Pacific Invitational in Stockton. The Golden Bears earned 420.5 points in competing in only one day of the two-day meet. Adrian, the 2009 NCAA champion in the 50 and 100 free, clocked in at 44.44 in the 100 free in Stockton to help lead a 1-2-3 Cal sweep in the event. Former Bear sprint freestylers Will Copeland was second (44.49) and Bennett Clark third (45.65).

Adrian was also instrumental in Cal’s victory in the 200 free relay, swimming the lead-off leg of the team that included juniors Graeme Moore, Josh Daniels and Guy Barnea. In the 200 free relay, the Bears topped Bay Area rival Stanford, 1:21.79-1:23.39.

Other top performances by Cal Saturday included sophomore Martin Liivamagi placing second in the 200 IM (1:53.63), Barnea taking third in the 100 back (50.53) and junior Damir Dugonjic, the 2009 NCAA champ in the 100 breast, finishing third in the 200 breast (2:07.21). Sophomore Nolan Koon was fourth in the 200 breast (2:08.79)

Re: ACC race

I believe G. Tech beat V. Tech which beat Miami which beat G. Tech. If none of the teams lose to any other ACC team (which doesn’t look hugely unlikely) then there’s quite a three way tie in that division for entrance to the ACC championship game. Dunno what the tiebreakers are. Texas-Oklahoma-Texas Tech Redux?

I was expecting a different theme for today’s DBD.

This is Cougar Week, isn’t it?

Most School Spirit: Cal, withstanding a plummet from lofty early rankings and the outright dismissal of the program as a legitimate Pac-10 contender to pummel UCLA on the road, thus ending an eight-quarter touchdown drought by the Bear offense and keeping those other blue-and-yellow ursines winless in conference play.

Box Scorin’: Golden Bears’ offense comes out of hibernation

California ended an eight-quarter drought without a touchdown and gained more yards (494) in its 45-26 win at UCLA than it gained in its back-to-back losses to Oregon and USC combined — despite finishing with the same number of first downs (17) that it earned in the 30-3 loss to the Trojans. Between them, Bear running backs Shane Vereen and Jahvid Best rolled up 327 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, more on both counts than the entire production of four of UCLA’s first five opponents.

1. U$C @ UO
2. a) ACC – Miami
b) BigTeleven – PSU
c) Big 12 – Texas
d) Big East – Cincy
e) Pac-10 – UO
f) SEC – Bama
3. SEC, BigTeleven, Pac-10 (only if UO beats U$C)
4. LSU or Iowa
5. Boise St. (and maybe TCU)

Here
http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2009/10/19/1090744/interview-with-former-cal-kicker

USC’s overall BCS ranking is the result of them having a loss, all the teams ahead of them are undefeated. USC’s formula ranking is the result of a bad loss, all of the 1-loss teams ahead of them lost to much better teams than Washington.

College Gameday should go to Oregon.

ACC: Miami
Big12: Texas
Big11: Iowa
Pac-10: USC
SEC: Florida
Big East Cincinnati

The SEC (Alabama), ACC (GA Tech or Va Tech, easy schedules remain), and Pac-10 (Oregon or Cal). The Cal inclusion is based on the outside shot they win out and Oregon loses to both USC and perhaps Arizona leaving them with 3 losses overall and behind Cal in the BCS. Cal, by the way, has some favorable formula rankings.

None of the Top 10 teams will flame out, but we know for sure at least 1 will be knocked out since LSU and Alabama play one another. Miami and Boise State are winning out, so too will Florida. Everyone else has a game remaining they can lose.

Boise State is getting a BCS birth, that’s guaranteed. The better question is whether they will receive two. And, with Houston, BYU, and TCU lurking, it’s a distinct possibility. However, the second bid would be a true at large and the major bowls will be reluctant given the tough economic times to invite a team like TCU who has a student enrollment of about 5,500. Houston, I believe, has the best shot because of its proximity to the Sugar Bowl, plays in a major city, and has a large student body.

Anger named Pac-10 Special Teams POTW

Arizona QB Nick Foles won the offense award; USC DT Jurrell Casey won the defensive award.

Vereen was nominated for offense and Hagan for defense.

Arizona State, USC, and LSU are his top three now, according to this recruiting message board.

Was this Riley’s best game? He completed 61% of his passes for 200 ish yards, 3 TDs, and 0 picks at the Rose Bowl against a D that featured Price, Carter, and Verner (no La-Names tho).

Not sure I’d use the word “great”…but “pretty good” sounds about right. I’d say we’re still looking for a great performance against a quality team from the BCS conferences.

Who was nervous after he air balled that first screen pass? Me too.

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

man takes Honda for 1,000 mile test drive.

I believe Janesville, WI —> Boston, MA.

Okanes Sunday night report:

–Cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson appeared to be moving around fine after missing Saturday’s second half with a hip pointer. I talked to him after practice and he said he expects to practice and play this week. Jeff Tedford didn’t seem worried about his availability, either.

–Kicker Vince D’Amato’s status is a little bit more uncertain. D’Amato suffered a sprained shoulder during a kick return in the second quarter against UCLA. Tedford said he "wasn’t sure yet" if D’Amato could go this week.

Good stuff about substitution patterns, Brian Schwenke getting more PT.

LINK

On the dynamics of the bus ride

We were able to meet for an hour on the bus. Everybody was loose and relaxed and we watched two movies, and then we were there. It was easy.

On what movies they watched

"Shooter," is that a movie, with what’s his name? Wahlberg? The second one was some Western.

Okanes gets player quotes.

On his block during Jahvid Best’s 93-yard TD run

We have this thing where you get a cut block and you get a little skull-and-crossbones thing on your binder, so I might be the first QB for Coach Ludwig to give one. He’ll judge it. I’m hoping to get one. … I was just jogging with Jahvid, saw him start to cut back a little so I just tried to get in the way of anybody. I was just hoping I wouldn’t get the guy from behind, but I got in front of him. And Jahvid finished off a great play.