BYU fans crowded Sam Boyd stadium Thursday, outnumbering the Cal crowd nearly 3-1. The Bears showed off their boatload of returning talent in the win. DeSean Jackson, my freshman of the year, had 5 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 42 yard strike in the last moments of the first half. That touchdown took the momentum from the Cougars, who had just scored a TD of their own, and given it back to the Bears heading into the second half. The Bears then dominated the 3rd quarter, following a 37 yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown run, and a diving DeSean Jackson 22 yard touchdown catch. The Bears held a 35-14 lead heading into the 4th, but BYU wasn't done. They followed their QB John Beck, who set Vegas Bowl records of 35 completions and 352 yards, to two 4th quarter touchdown drives. After a missed Golden Bear 50 yard field goal, BYU had a shot to tie the game up. But early on in the drive, Cal applied the pressure on Beck, who had his arm hit on the play. The ball then sailed, and Cal's Junior CB Daymeion Hughes picked the ball off the seal the game.

Cal PP's:

Donnie McCleskey- After a very mediocre season, Donnie finished the season strong playing very well against Stanford and BYU. He had 8 total tackles and 1 TFL. He led the Cal defense all night, and was pretty good in coverage: positive

Ryan O'Callagahn- Fresh after Mel Kiper named him a possible first round candidate, he had one of the worst games of the year. The right side of the offensive line was constantly collapsed. He was very good in run blocking however, a reversal of what he usually is good at: slightly negative

Marvin Philip- Marvin, a mormon himself who was highly recruited by BYU out of high school, had one of his best games as a Golden Bear. He realy looked good and solidified himself as a first day selection in my opinion: positive

Harrison Smith- Had a team leading 10.5 tackles, a TFL, and an INT, but was beat in coverage consistently. I also noticed a handfull of missed tackles by him. I still think he is picked no lower than the 5th round though: slightly negative

Others:

Cal returns nearly all their starters next year including RB Marshawn Lynch, both starting receivers, both starting CB's, all but one of their LB's, and standout defensive lineman Brandon Mebane.

Lynch had a career high 194 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

Already stated, DeSean Jackson owned, and verified the hype that surrounded him before he even put on a jersey.

QB Steve Levy looked very good in just his 2nd start of the season. Nathan Longshore is the favorite to get the starting QB position, but LEvy should definantly get some consideration.

BYU PP's:

Todd Watkins- looked very good catching a touchdown pass from QB John Beck on a fade route midway through the 4th on a 4th and goal. I compare him to Rashaun Woods, who is not flashy in anything, but good in almost everything: positive

John Beck- Looked very good, setting Vegas Bowl record for 35 completions and 352 yards. Both interceptions were result of protection breaking down, his arm getting hit, and nice plays by Cal defenders. Beck is only a junior and is expected to come back for his senior season and try and compete for a MWC title: positive

Others:

Nathan Meikle- Towards the end of the game I began to get annoyed by the mention of his name. He caught 12, yes 12, passes, for 93 yards. He also did a great job of making plays after the catch. He is also a junior and will be back next year as Beck's favorite receiver: positive

Cal, returning nearly all of it's players, including 95 percent of it's scoring, was picked by commentators to be a top 15 preseason team next year. And I can't say I disagree with him. Go Bears!

Nice writeup, Sam.

Did McClesky get those numbers in one game or the last two? it was hard to tell the way it reads?

I think Lynch is the best bnack in college today...better than Bush, better than Peterson...better than anybody...

I was pretty impressed with O'Callaghan before the injury too. From the sounds of it we may be safe leaving him off the Top 100 at least until the combine though, huh?

McCleskey had those stats in the Vegas game alone, I was just stating that he finished the sesaon off good, playing well in both those games. I think Lynch is better than everybody except Bush, but Lynch has a bright future, should get some heisman consideration next year. O'Callagahn will sneak into the top 100, solely because of his massive size and potential.