2006 California Golden Bears football team The 2006 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California , Berkeley in the college football 2006 – 2007 season . They played their home games at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley , California and were coached by Jeff Tedford . The Bears began the season with a Top 25 # 12 ranking . After sustaining an upset by then # 23 ranked Tennessee in their opening game , the Bears won their next eight games before suffering another upset to unranked Arizona followed by a subsequent loss to then # 4 USC . All of these defeats came in away games . The Bears went on qualify for a share of the Pac - 10 title after USC was upset by rival UCLA the following week . The team made its second Holiday Bowl in three years , blowing out # 21 Texas A & M and finishing the season ranked # 14 . Pre - season . Since Jeff Tedford took the Cal football coaching job after their dreadful 1 – 10 2001 campaign , Cal saw an immense improvement in its football program , having five straight winning seasons from 2002 to 2006 . This particular Bears team , with a wealth of talent returning from their previous season , had a good amount of pre - season hype surrounding it , with the preseason AP Poll ranking the Bears # 9 , while the Coaches Poll rated them # 12 , their highest ranking since 1952 . After a season - ending injury in the first game of the 2005 season , sophomore Nate Longshore was named the starting quarterback for the Bears over Joe Ayoob , who had struggled in the 2005 games that he had started . After a very impressive season , Cal also launched a program to officially campaign for running back Marshawn Lynch to win the Heisman Trophy . In the College GameDay preview on ESPN , Lee Corso predicted the Bears to win the Pac - 10 championship over the USC Trojans , and even went as far to say the Bears would win the national championship over West Virginia , saying " they play a tough schedule , but they could lose to Tennessee and still run 11 straight ball games . I like Cal . . . I ' m telling you , it ' s Cal versus West Virginia , and then Cal wins it ; the national title goes to Cal . " Game notes . Tennessee Volunteers . Cal ' s opener was on the road against the # 23 Tennessee Volunteers , a SEC team just coming off of a disappointing 5 – 6 season under coach Phillip Fulmer . With a hostile crowd of 106 , 009 watching at Neyland Stadium , Cal was torn to shreds . Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge went 11 for 18 and passed for 291 yards and 4 touchdowns against the highly touted Cal defense . Vol receiver , Robert Meachem had a breakout game with 5 catches for 182 yards and 2 TD ' s . Newly appointed starting quarterback Nate Longshore struggled in his first road start , only passing for 85 yards . Heisman candidate Marshawn Lynch was held to 74 yards on 12 carries . While the Bears managed to hold Tennessee to 14 first half points , a quick 80 - yard touchdown pass from Ainge to Meachem at the start of the third quarter quickly started a tumble that ended up giving the Volunteers a 35 – 0 lead by the middle of the third quarter . The Tennessee secondary was then dispatched to finish the Bears off , and Joe Ayoob was substituted for Longshore , putting up 187 yards , including a touchdown . Tennessee managed to rake up an extremely impressive 514 yards against the Bears . Ainge later said " This game tonight wasn ' t just for Tennessee versus California . It was for the South versus the West Coast , the SEC versus the Pac - 10 . " Because the loss was so lopsided , and because Cal was expected to do highly well this season , many immediately dismissed Cal from any type of national discussion . Cal dropped 13 spots in the AP Poll to # 22 and 11 spots in the Coaches Poll to # 23 , while Tennessee rose twelve spots in the AP poll to # 11 and six spots to # 17 in the Coaches Poll . Minnesota Golden Gophers . Cal got its first home game of the season on September 9 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in front of a crowd of 55 , 035 . The Gophers were 1 – 0 with their win against Kent State . Minnesota scored on its first drive , but the Bears bounced back with a touchdown in the first and second quarter to receivers Robert Jordan and DeSean Jackson , respectively . The Gophers ' Dominic Jones responded with a 99 - yard kickoff return touchdown . Eventually California pulled ahead on two touchdowns by Jackson , and led 28 – 17 at the half , and with two more touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter on rushes by Marshawn Lynch , the Bears put the Gophers away 42 – 17 . Nate Longshore bounced back in a big way from his previous start , finishing 22 for 31 with 300 yards and 4 touchdowns . He later joked about how it felt good to finally play a fourth quarter . Lynch finished with 139 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries , while backup running back Justin Forsett gathered 77 rushing yards of his own . Receivers Lavelle Hawkins and DeSean Jackson both finished with over 100 yards , with Jackson gathering three touchdowns as well . Cal got 531 yards of offense in all , compared to Minnesota ' s 352 . Minnesota quarterback Bryan Cupito was 21 for 33 with 243 yards and 2 interceptions , both picked by Cal cornerback Daymeion Hughes . With this loss , the Golden Gophers lost their first non - conference game in 18 tries , the longest streak in the Big Ten . Cal rose in the polls one spot in the AP Poll to # 21 , and two spots in the Coaches Poll to # 21 , after this win . Portland State Vikings . Cal played at home the next week against the Portland State Vikings , a Division 1 - AA opponent that was the last team scheduled on the Bears ' 2006 schedule . The Vikings were 2 – 0 going into this game at California Memorial Stadium before a crowd of 61 , 082 . Portland State scored a field goal on their opening drive , but the Bears responded with three more touchdowns before the first quarter ended , one coming from a Daymeion Hughes 30 - yard interception . In the second quarter , Marshawn Lynch posted a 71 - yard touchdown run , and another touchdown midway through the third quarter put the Bears put 35 – 3 . Portland State would score two quick touchdowns before the half ended , but the half would close with Cal receiver DeSean Jackson scoring on a 27 - yard pass . Cal substituted many of its roster into the game in the second half , and neither team managed to score in the second half , and the Bears won 42 – 16 , bringing their record to 2 – 1 . Cal brought in 502 total yards , 335 being in the first half . Nate Longshore passed for 225 yards , 2 touchdowns , and 1 interception . Lynch rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 6 carries , and Jackson had five catches for 103 yards and a score . Backup Cal quarterback Steve Levy also played , going 7 for 10 with 66 yards . Vikings quarterback Rob Freeman was 12 for 17 with 119 yards and a touchdown . Despite this , Cal had three turnovers and 9 penalties which put them back over 100 yards . Both Jackson and Hughes seemed confident they could play better the next week in Pac - 10 play . With this win , Cal stayed steady in the AP Poll at # 21 , and rose one spot in the Coaches Poll to # 20 . Portland State would finish the season 7 – 4 , 6 – 2 in the Big Sky Conference . Arizona State Sun Devils . On September 23 , Cal played their first Pac - 10 game of the season . This year , the Pac - 10 football officials ruled to have twelve game schedules for its teams for the first time , and nine of those twelve games will be conference games , producing a full round - robin tournament in the conference to determine their champion . They played against the Arizona State Sun Devils , ranked # 22 in the AP Poll and # 18 in the Coaches Poll . Many expected the Sun Devils to have a good chance to seriously compete for the conference title this year . They entered with a 3 – 0 record against non - conference opponents . Arizona State scored on its opening drive , putting them up 7 – 0 early in the first quarter . But Cal answered back , putting up five straight touchdowns midway through the second quarter , four being passes by Nate Longshore and the fifth being an 80 - yard punt return by DeSean Jackson . Arizona State scored again before the half , and just as the half winded down , Daymeion Hughes intercepted a pass for a score to put Cal up 42 – 14 when the first half was over . Both teams managed one more touchdown each in the second half to give Cal the 49 – 21 victory . Sun Devils coach Dirk Koetter confessed after the game , " When the pressure builds , even the routine plays become tough . This is exactly what happened to Cal at Tennessee . " Longshore passed for 270 yards and four touchdowns , while Marshawn Lynch added 124 rushing yards on 17 carries , including a receiving touchdown . Daymeion Hughes had his fifth interception in three games . Cal also controlled the ball for only slightly more than 23 minutes , compared to the Sun Devils 36 minutes , even though they easily outscored them . After this win , Cal rose one spot in the AP Poll to # 20 , and stayed steady in the Coaches Poll at # 20 . Arizona State dropped from both polls after the loss . The Sun Devils finished the season 7 – 6 ( 4 – 5 in the Pac - 10 ) , but would lose the Hawaii Bowl to Hawaii and would fire Koetter soon thereafter and replace him with Dennis Erickson . Oregon State Beavers . In week 5 , Cal headed to Corvallis , Oregon to play the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium . The Beavers had a 2 – 1 record going into this game , and had yet to play a Pac - 10 matchup this season . Last season , the Beavers played a ranked Cal squad at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley and upset them 23 – 20 , dropping the Bears from the rankings for the first time in over a year . In front of a rowdy crowd , the Bears dominated the Beavers , scoring four touchdowns and hitting a field goal before the Beavers were able to score a field goal as the first half ended . In the second half , the Beavers were able to score another field goal and a fourth - quarter touchdown , but the Bears also managed another touchdown and field goal to end the game 41 – 13 . Nate Longshore had a career - high day , passing for 341 yards and four touchdowns , along with one interception . Marshawn Lynch also had a rushing touchdown , along with two receiving ones . DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins also scored on receiving touchdowns . Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore had 187 passing yards before being replaced in the fourth quarter . This win propelled the Bears four spots in the AP Poll to # 16 , and shot them up three spots in the Coaches Poll to # 17 . Their record stood at 4 – 1 , with a 2 – 0 Pac - 10 record , while the Beavers left with a 2 – 2 record , 0 – 1 in the Pac - 10 . With a looming game against the undefeated Oregon Ducks , Coach Tedford confessed that he would " immediately " begin thinking about the showdown . Despite the blowout , the Beavers finished the season with a 10 – 4 record , and third in the Pac - 10 thanks to a 7 – 3 conference record , a win in the 2006 Sun Bowl over Missouri , and would score a memorable upset over the former # 3 USC Trojans several weeks after the Cal loss . Oregon Ducks . Cal played the next Saturday , October 7 , for California ' s Homecoming weekend , against the undefeated # 11 ( in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll ) Oregon Ducks , a team that was 4 – 0 , and 1 – 0 in Pac - 10 play . It was broadcast to the majority of the country on ABC Sports . The game at California Memorial Stadium was played in front of a sold - out crowd of 72 , 516 . Surprisingly , Cal came into the game wearing gold jerseys , instead of their normal blue outfits . Before the game , the Cal student section gave a raucous tribute to Nobel Prize winner George Smoot , who had just won a few days earlier for his research on the Big Bang . Cal continued to shine in its victory over the Ducks . Quarterback Nate Longshore had a touchdown pass early in the first quarter , but the Ducks bounced back with a field goal . Cal then scored three straight touchdowns , two being passes from Longshore , and one being a memorable 65 - yard punt return by receiver DeSean Jackson to put the Bears up 28 – 3 . Oregon scored a touchdown before the half ended , leaving Cal with a 28 – 10 lead . A field goal and another Longshore touchdown into receiver Robert Jordan ' s hands gave the Bears a 38 – 10 lead , but the Ducks countered with a touchdown pass as the third quarter ended . Another touchdown score by both teams in the fourth quarter , Cal ' s coming from tailback Justin Forsett ' s 23 - yard run , gave the Bears an impressive 45 – 24 victory . This was the fifth straight game in which the Bears scored more than 40 points . Longshore was 14 for 26 with 189 yards , four touchdowns ( including one on the ground ) , and one interception . While Lynch was held to just 50 yards because of an ankle injury , Justin Forsett rushed for 163 yards on 27 carries , with one score . DeSean Jackson had two touchdowns , one passing and one 65 - yard punt return . Receivers Craig Stevens and Robert Jordan also had touchdown receptions . Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon threw for 263 yards , two touchdowns , and three interceptions . Running back Jonathan Stewart , the then - leader in Pac - 10 rushing yards , was held to just 25 yards on 18 carries by the Cal defense . This game put Cal in the prime position to challenge USC for the Pac - 10 championship . Cal moved up six spots in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll to # 10 and # 11 , respectively , after this win , while Oregon dropped seven spots in both polls to # 18 . The Ducks are already bowl - eligible , unranked in the AP Poll and in the Coaches Poll , but have a # 24 ranking in the BCS standings . They have a 7 – 3 record ( 4 – 3 in the Pac - 10 ) . Washington State Cougars . One week later , Cal traveled to Pullman , Washington to battle the Washington State Cougars at Martin Stadium . The Bears had not won in Pullman since 1979 , losing nine straight games . The Cougars sported a 4 – 2 record , 2 – 1 in the Pac - 10 , only falling to the then - AP ranked # 4 Auburn Tigers and to the then - AP ranked # 3 USC Trojans in a very close contest . Rather than a blowout victory using the offense , the Bears won this game using defense . Three touchdowns were scored in the first half , two from Marshawn Lynch and one rushing touchdown by quarterback Nate Longshore , and the Cougars were held to just a field goal . After the half , the Bears buckled down on defense and didn ' t allow the Cougars to score again . Washington State had an opportunity to score in the third quarter , but an official review ruled receiver Dwight Tardy ' s knee was down on the 1 - yard line . On fourth and one , the Bears defense stopped the rush to turn the ball over on downs . A quiet second half gave Cal its six straight win , 21 – 3 . They left with a 6 – 1 record , and an unblemished 4 – 0 Pac - 10 tally . The Cougars fell to 4 – 3 , 2 – 2 in the Pac - 10 . Longshore threw for 176 yards and two interceptions , along with one rushing touchdown . Marshawn Lynch had 152 yards on 25 carries with Cal ' s two other scores . Receivers DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan gathered 60 and 56 yards , respectively . This was the first game of the season Jackson did not score a touchdown . Daymeion Hughes got his sixth interception of the season that set up one of Lynch ' s touchdowns . The Cal defense stifled the Cougars running game to just 88 yards . The offensive line also managed to keep the Cougars , who led the nation in quarterback sacks with 27 , at bay , only letting them sack Longshore once . After Cal ' s offense had been in full throttle for five straight games , many began to wonder if the Bears were beginning to struggle . The Bears fell one spot in the AP Poll to # 11 , and stayed constant at # 11 in the Coaches Poll after this win . In the first BCS Standings of the season , released the next day , the Bears sported a # 10 position . The game was not broadcast in the Bay Area , angering many Cal fans . However , Slingbox gave fans an opportunity to watch the game at California Memorial Stadium . After a successful test the day before , over 3 , 000 fans crammed into Memorial Stadium to watch as Slingbox streamed the game from Washington to the large television in the stadium . Washington Huskies . 58 , 534 people piled into California Memorial Stadium on October 21 to watch Cal play the Washington Huskies . The Huskies , expected to finish last in the Pac - 10 at the beginning of the season , exceeded that prediction , starting the season 4 – 1 . Two straight losses , one a near - upset of the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , and the other a shocker against Oregon State , swayed their momentum a bit , yielding a 4 – 3 record , 2 – 2 in the Pac - 10 . Coach Tyrone Willingham had already doubled the Huskies previous year ' s win total . The Bears were the clear favorite to win the game , but some predicted that the Huskies could provide a " trap game " for the Bears . Backup Washington quarterback Carl Bonnell , subbing in for the injured starting quarterback Isaiah Stanback . He managed to do quite well . The Huskies struck first , driving down field to get a 33 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Bonnell pitched a 49 - yard pass to receiver Anthony Russo to give the Huskies a 10 – 0 lead . After scoring 192 points in their last six games , the Bears only managed a half - ending field goal from Tom Schneider to end the half with Washington up 10 – 3 . In Cal ' s first possession of the second half , they drove the ball 62 yards down field , capping it off with Justin Forsett running in for a touchdown . Later in the third quarter , Schneider managed an impressive 50 - yard field goal to give the Bears their first lead of the game , 13 – 10 . The Huskies did not stay down for long , starting the fourth quarter with Bonnell rushing seven yards for a score . Cal tried to respond , but only managed to get a field goal , leaving them one point behind . After a defensive stop , quarterback Nate Longshore was excellent on the last drive of regulation , going 82 yards in 12 plays as the game winded down , converting two third - and - tens . Marshawn Lynch ran in 17 yards for the score , with Justin Forsett managed to rush in for the two - point conversion , giving the Bears a 24 – 17 lead with 1 : 52 to go . Cal seemed safe , but Bonnell kept pushing upfield on the Huskies possession , and capped it off with an improbable 40 - yard Hail Mary pass , batted off the hands of three Cal defenders into the hands of receiver Marlon Wood as the clock ran to zero . Cal was on offense first in overtime . On the second play , Longshore passed back to Lynch , who ran 22 yards in for the touchdown . On Washington ' s possession , Cal defender Desmond Bishop intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it 82 yards to the Washington 17 , Cal ' s fifth interception of the game , giving the Bears a heart stopping 31 – 24 victory . Marshawn Lynch jubilantly took a cart used to drive injured players off the field for a joyride in the middle of the stadium following the win . He gathered 150 yards on 21 carries , while sporting two sprained ankles . Longshore was 21 for 36 with 291 yards . Bonnell passed for 284 yards , but the five interceptions proved too costly . Bishop later said of the victory , " We know we can win big games now . We know it ' s inside us . " In a weekend full of near upsets of the Texas Longhorns , Notre Dame , and the Tennessee Volunteers , the Bears dropped one spot in both polls to # 12 , but stayed at # 10 in the BCS Rankings . The Bears now had a 7 – 1 record , with a perfect 5 – 0 Pac - 10 record . Washington dropped its third straight , falling to 4 – 4 , 2 – 3 in the Pac - 10 . The Washington Huskies would finish 5 – 7 , 3 – 6 in the Pac - 10 . UCLA Bruins . After a bye week , which saw the Bears take sole position of first place in the Pac - 10 , rising two spots in the AP Poll to # 10 and one spot in the Coaches Poll to # 11 ( staying steady at # 10 in the BCS Standings ) , Cal faced the UCLA Bruins , a Pac - 10 team and rival of the Bears , who sported a 4 – 4 record , 2 – 3 in the Pac - 10 . Last year , in a contest between the unbeaten , ranked teams at the Rose Bowl , the Bears fell to the Bruins 47 – 40 , letting their 40 – 28 lead in the fourth quarter melt away . The Bruins starting quarterback Ben Olson was still injured , so backup quarterback Patrick Cowan took his fourth start in California Memorial Stadium . The Bruins had a tough last three weeks after starting 4 – 1 , losing to the Oregon Ducks on the road , losing their chance at an upset over the # 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the last minute of the game at Notre Dame Stadium , and losing at home to the Washington State Cougars at home 37 – 15 . The Bears and Bruins have split their last six contests , with the home team winning each occasion . Cal wore their gold jerseys from the Oregon game four weeks earlier in front of a sold - out crowd of 72 , 516 , Cal ' s second of the year , and just their fifth from opponents besides Stanford since the 1950s . In the first quarter , Cal drove down the field to score on their first possession of the ballgame . A defensive stop against UCLA and then the Bears gave the Bruins possession , and Cowan ran in for a twelve - yard touchdown . Quarterback Nate Longshore took the helm , driving 76 yards on the next possession , the drive capped off by Marshawn Lynch ' s brilliant 24 - yard catch - and - dash through the UCLA defense . The Bruins drove deep in the next drive , but settled for a field goal , which ended the first half scoring . On an early third - quarter possession of Cal , Longshore threw to receiver Robert Jordan for a 44 - yard touchdown . After UCLA ' s failed drive , DeSean Jackson , aided by a devastating block by Thomas DeCoud , returned the ensuing punt 72 yards for a touchdown , putting the Bears up 28 – 10 . It was the fourth punt return for touchdown in Jackson ' s career , tying a Pac 10 record . Lynch ran in for another touchdown early in the fourth quarter . UCLA would managed to haul in two more touchdowns , including a 70 - yard run from Chris Markey , while Cal could only get off a field goal . This propelled the Bears to their eighth straight win over the Bruins , 38 – 24 . Longshore was 20 - for - 24 with 266 yards and three touchdowns . Lynch ran for 81 yards and a touchdown , and had 45 receiving yards along with another touchdown . Receiver Robert Jordan , Lynch ' s second cousin , had 86 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 5 catches . Lavelle Hawkins and DeSean Jackson had 60 and 58 receiving yards on 5 and 3 catches , respectively . Backup running back Justin Forsett also ran for 60 yards on just 11 carries . Desmond Bishop and Daymeion Hughes both had interceptions off of Cowan . Hughes ' s eighth is the current conference best . Cowan threw for 329 yards and was 22 - for - 40 with the two interceptions . UCLA had 516 total yards , compared to Cal ' s 433 . The Bears ' win gave them an 8 – 1 record , 6 – 0 in the Pac - 10 . They saw a two spot rise in the AP Poll to # 8 , and another two spot rise in the Coaches Poll to # 9 . They are also # 8 in the BCS standings , increasing two spots from the previous week . The Bruins are now 5 – 5 , 3 – 4 in the Pac - 10 , on the verge of bowl eligibility . Arizona Wildcats . Cal travelled to Tucson , Arizona Saturday to battle the Arizona Wildcats . The AP ranked # 8 Golden Bears went into the game with an 8 – 1 record , and 6 – 0 in Pac - 10 . The Wildcats were 4 – 5 , 2 – 4 in the Pac - 10 , coming off of an upset of the then - ranked Washington State Cougars at Pullman the week before . Quarterback Willie Tuitama missed two previous games due to a concussion , and went back in against the Cougars , passing for 159 yards . Junior running back Chris Henry had perhaps the biggest day , running for 94 yards and two touchdowns on a school - record 35 carries . Cal has blanked the Wildcats in their last two meetings , 28 – 0 last year in Berkeley and in 2004 at Tucson , 38 – 0 . Despite a looming , much - anticipated showdown against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 18 that will probably decide the Pac - 10 championship , Cal quarterback Nate Longshore insisted that they were solely focused on the Wildcats this week . A 95 - yard punt return by DeSean Jackson was the first score , putting the Bears up 7 – 0 . Arizona got a field goal next , putting them on the board 7 – 3 . Midway through the first quarter , Marshawn Lynch ' s 79 - yard touchdown run was erased by a block - in - the - back call on Lavelle Hawkins , and the Bears had to settle for a field goal . In the middle of the second quarter , Longshore hit Jackson with a 72 - yard touchdown pass to put the Bears up 17 – 3 at the half . Arizona would drive the clock down on two drives in the second half and get a touchdown on both drives to tie the game at 17 . Within the span of three plays on the second of these drives , Cal had two interceptions by Bernard Hicks and Daymeion Hughes nullified by two separate penalties . Hughes later argued that his case should not have given him a pass interference call , as he was just reaching for the ball . On Cal ' s next drive , with the score now tied , Longshore threw and the ball was intercepted by Arizona ' s Antoine Cason for another score , putting the Wildcats up 24 – 17 . The Bears would respond in their next series with a long pass to Lavelle Hawkins , but he would trip inside the 5 - yard line before reaching the goal . Cal could not capitalize , having to put up a field goal , earning them a four - point deficit 24 – 20 . A stop on the Arizona defense gave the Bears the ball again . Longshore apparently hit Jackson for a 63 - yard score with just over two minutes left , but a video review ruled his foot out at the 41 - yard line . A few plays later , Longshore ' s pass was batted and intercepted with less than two minutes to clinch the game for Arizona . The student section wildly rushed the field as Cal was taken out of the national title picture for the season . While Cal out gained the Wildcats in yardage 356 to 262 , and though Longshore passed for 250 yards , his three interceptions turned quite costly , as did all of Cal ' s penalties on crucial plays . Despite their 17 – 3 mid - third quarter lead , the Bears just made too many mistakes . Hughes later reflected on the loss , " The whole game was like plays going their way . " Cal fell to 8 – 2 , 6 – 1 in the Pac - 10 after this loss , and fell nine spots to # 17 in the AP Poll , and eight spots in the Coaches Poll to # 17 . Their BCS ranking decreased seven spots to # 15 . Despite the upset , they still had a chance to clinch their Rose Bowl bid with a win against the conference leading USC Trojans the next week . Arizona would finish 6 – 6 , 4 – 5 in the Pac - 10 , but despite being eligible , would not be picked for a bowl game . USC Trojans . In one of the most important Pac - 10 games of the season , Cal traveled to Los Angeles to battle the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . A victory by either side would ensure a BCS berth for that team , since the winner would be crowned champion of the Pac - 10 because they would hold the tiebreaker over the other . While the previous week ' s loss knocked Cal from the talks of hunting for the national title , a victory would have ensured its first Rose Bowl berth since 1959 . USC had higher aspirations ; they were aiming for their third strip to the BCS National Championship Game , and with Michigan ' s loss to Ohio State earlier , a sweep of their final three games would guarantee them the # 2 seed and a date with the Buckeyes . A win against Cal would at the very least clinch the Rose Bowl . The Trojans and Bears would struggle to a standstill for three quarters . The Golden Bears would take a 9 – 6 lead into halftime thanks to a safety by Brandon Mebane and a TD throw from Nate Longshore to Lavelle Hawkins , although the margin could have been bigger if not for two turnovers in USC territory . The Trojans would score one field goal in each of the three quarters to tie the game at 9 . In the fourth quarter , USC would break the game open . Two touchdown passes on two consecutive drives from John David Booty to Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith respectively provided the game ' s final scoring . Just as critical was USC ' s defense shutting down Cal ' s offense in the second half , allowing only four first downs . USC clinched its fifth consecutive Pac - 10 title and at least a trip to the Rose Bowl . Booty struggled in the first half , but went 13 for 19 for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second . Jarrett and Smith combined for 11 catches and 154 yards and the aforementioned two scores . For Cal , Marshawn Lynch was held to 88 yards on 20 carries , and Longshore went 17 – 38 , throwing for 1 touchdown but also 2 interceptions . The Bears would go into Thanksgiving weekend ( their traditional bye week ) needing to win The Big Game to wrap up their second Holiday Bowl bid in three years . Despite the victory , the Trojans would be upset by UCLA in the last week of the season to ruin their BCS title aspirations . This opened the door for the Florida Gators , who beat the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2006 SEC Championship Game to claim a spot in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State . USC would go onto the Rose Bowl , where they would defeat Big Ten runnerup and BCS - ranked # 3 Michigan 32 – 18 . The Trojans would finish the season 11 – 2 and 7 – 2 in the Pac - 10 , ranked 4th in both the AP and Coaches Polls . Stanford Cardinal . After being defeated by USC two weeks previous , Cal looked to try to rebound from its two - game losing streak by facing their rivals , the Stanford Cardinal in the 109th Big Game . It was not a particularly strong performance from the Bears , who only managed one offensive touchdown . Nate Longshore threw for 217 yards and one score against a Cardinal defense that had tried their best to stop the California offense . Both Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett were held under 100 yards against a defense that was once the worst in the entire NCAA that season . However , Tom Schneider kicked four field goals ( including tying a school record with a 55 yarder ) and Syd ' Quan Thompson picked up a fumble recovery for a late first half score , and that was just enough for the Bears to stave off a strong performance from T . J . Ostrander and the hapless one win Cardinal squad . Pac - 10 defense stats Since Cal defeated Stanford , and USC was defeated by UCLA the same day , Cal got its first share of the Pac - 10 Title since 1975 , with Cal and USC both atop the Pac - 10 in the final standings . Because USC beat Cal though , the Trojans would be heading to the Rose Bowl while the Golden Bears had to settle for San Diego and the Holiday Bowl . Stanford finished 1 – 11 , 1 – 8 in the conference and fired their head coach Walt Harris after the season was over . He was replaced by Jim Harbaugh . Texas A & M Aggies . Lynch rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns while the Golden Bear defense was able to hold the Aggie offense to a scoreless second half . Longshore threw for a Touchdown , rushed for one , but also threw an interception while passing for 231 yards in the Golden Bear win . Justin Forsett also ran for 125 yards and scored once himself .