Lynch Leads Cal To Lopsided Win Over I-AA Hornets

Berkeley, CA -- Lynch leads Cal to lopsided win over I-AA Hornets Marshawn Lynch racked up 147 yards and a score on 24 carries to lead the 19th-ranked California Golden Bears to a 41-3 victory over the Sacramento State Hornets in the opener for both teams. Nate Longshore completed 8-of-11 passes for 131 yards with one score and one pick in the win for California (1-0). Longshore left the game with a sprained ankle, and junior college transfer Joe Ayoob took over under center. Ayoob played poorly, and Steve Levy finished the contest for the Golden Bears. Chris Hurd and Brad Tredway combined to complete 16-of-37 passes for 121 yards in the loss for Sacramento State (0-1). The only points of the first quarter came on a 31-yard pass from Longshore to DeSean Jackson which gave California a 7-0 lead. Sacramento State cut its deficit to 7-3 with 2:44 remaining in the second quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Juan Gamboa, but just over a minute later, Cal bumped its advantage to 10-3 with a 49-yard field goal by Tom Schneider. With 9:36 left in the third stanza, the Golden Bears pushed their lead to 17-3 on a Lynch two-yard touchdown plunge. Cal made it 20-3 with 2:20 left in the third on a 27-yard field goal by Schneider. Then, in the closing seconds of the period, Levy fired a 46-yard touchdown strike to Noah Smith. After 45 minutes of action, California held a commanding 27-3 lead. The Golden Bears pushed their advantage to 34-3 early in the fourth quarter on a three-yard touchdown plunge by Chris Manderino. With 5:21 left in the game, Jackson returned a punt 49 yards for a score to improve the Cal stronghold to 41-3 and cap the scoring. Both Cal and Sacramento State finished with 69 offensive plays, but the Golden Bears racked up 395 yards, while the Hornets managed a mere 189. Game Notes Sacramento State was the first Division I-AA opponent for Jeff Tedford as a head coach at Cal...The Golden Bears have now scored over 40 points in three of four openers under Tedford...Cal's current streak of three straight winning seasons, all under Tedford, is the longest in Berkeley since Pappy Waldorf's Bears posted six straight winning seasons from 1947 to 1952...Cal is now 16-3 in its last 19 contests, the best 19-game stretch for the program since the Bears went 16-2-1 from November 5, 1949 through October 13, 1951...Cal has won its last eight home games.