Jackson shows his value for California
DeSean Jackson is spectacular from scrimmage and on special teams. If only he could play defensive back, California might not have to worry so much.
The junior wide receiver scored on a 73-yard reverse and 10th-ranked Cal held off scrappy Colorado State, 34-28, on Saturday at Fort Collins, Colo.
Jackson, who opened the season with an electrifying 77-yard punt return touchdown against Tennessee, again flashed his Heisman Trophy credentials when he circled left, deked cornerback Joey Rucks at midfield and raced all alone down the Rams’ sideline for Cal’s first touchdown.
“My coach said, ‘I need something to spark our team,’ and he threw me in there, put a reverse in there,” Jackson said with a shrug. “The outside corners had that covered up, so I just stuck my foot into the ground, hit it right up the middle and put the move on a couple of DBs. And I did what I do best, which is get into the end zone.”
Jackson, who had 143 all-purpose yards on only six touches against Tennessee, collected 141 all-purpose yards against the Rams despite a throbbing thumb that resulted in a couple of drops. He gained 78 yards in two carries, 39 yards on five receptions and 24 on two punt returns.
The Golden Bears (2-0) needed all of his talents and more to fend off the Rams, who scored two touchdowns 53 seconds apart against backups to turn a 34-14 deficit into a 34-28 nail-biter with 2:54 remaining.
“It’s a great lesson for us that the game’s never over,” Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said.
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Washington State 45, San Diego State 17 -- Alex Brink completed a school-record 38 passes for 469 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Cougars (1-1) over the Aztecs (0-1) at Seattle.
Brink was 38 for 47, bettering the 37 completed passes Drew Bledsoe had against Montana in 1992. Brink’s 469 yards is the third-highest total in school history, trailing only his own 531 yards against Oregon State in 2005 and Bledsoe’s 476 yards against Utah in the 1992 Copper Bowl.
Brink threw for 304 yards in the first half alone and stood on the sidelines wearing a baseball hat backward for the last six minutes. It was his the fourth game of 400 yards or more in his career, the most in Washington State history.
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Arizona State 33, Colorado 14 -- Rudy Carpenter threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns to help the Sun Devils (2-0) rally from a two-touchdown deficit to beat the Buffaloes (1-1) at Tempe, Ariz.
ASU (2-0) put the game away with 14 second-half points on a seven-yard run by Ryan Torain and a 20-yard pass from Carpenter to Michael Jones, his second touchdown catch. Torain rushed for 91 yards.
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Arizona 45, Northern Arizona 24 -- Willie Tuitama threw a career-high five touchdown passes, one shy of the school record, and Antoine Cason went 70 yards for a score on the second punt return of his career to lead the Wildcats (1-1) over the Lumberjacks (1-1) at Tucson.
Tuitama had scoring passes of 20, 34, four, 26 and 27 yards -- to five receivers. He completed 23 of 44 for 283 yards. His only interception, in the third quarter, set up a Northern Arizona score.