Mike Mohamed Named LOTT Impact Player of the Week

The Lott IMPACT trophy awards great defensive performance on the field and great character off of it. CalBears.com with the story.

Senior preseason All-America linebacker Mike Mohamed was named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week on Tuesday for his performance in Cal’s 52-7 victory over Colorado at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Mohamed is on the national watch list for the 2010 Lott IMPACT Trophy.

Mohamed had a huge game against the Buffaloes with a career-high-tying 14 tackles and his seventh career interception (Cal’s active leader) that he returned 41 yards for his second career touchdown with 0:11 seconds remaining in the first half to give Cal a 31-0 lead at the break. He added a quarterback hurry and 0.5 tackles for loss.

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“He’s one of the most versatile linebackers I’ve seen in a long time,” said former Cal head coach Mike White, now on the LOTT Impact Foundation Board of Directors. “He’s a very physical presence against the run and has tremendous reaction to the pass. More importantly, he’s a great young man and a great leader on the team.”

Cal Reenters USA Today Coaches Poll, Finishing at 24th

The Bears are back in the top 25 of the Coaches Poll after two impressive wins to begin 2010. They’re currently 24th.

They still aren’t ranked in the AP Poll, finishing 29th and ranked behind five other Pac-10 teams. Another win against Nevada could do a lot to help them in that regard.

Golden Bears Defense Dominates, Takes Advantage of Colorado's Mistakes

Here is the California Golden Blogs official recap of the game, which focuses on how Colorado did themselves no favors in the 52-7 victory by Cal.

Colorado spent the rest of the game killing themselves with penalties and turnovers. Colorado’s most successful drive in the first half took them all the way to the two yard line—and then a chop block and a false start took them out of the red zone, leading to a missed field goal and effectively ended any hopes of a Buffaloes comeback. Colorado notched 9 penalties for 72 yards and shot themselves in the foot on one too many drives.

Because they’re masochists over there at Boulder, they proceeded to shoot themselves in the kneecap. The Buffaloes turned over the ball five times, leading to 31 points, 14 directly by the defense. Mychal Kendricks sacked Tyler Hansen as Colorado drove to midfield, then Jarred Price hit Hansen on the very next play and forced a fumble that Kendricks recovered. Cal got another short field and drove 31 yards in under three minutes, capping it off with Riley to Jones to make it 14-0. Bryant Nnabuife took advantage of heavy quarterback pressure to reel in a bad decision by Hansen to release the ball, setting up another short field and a quick field goal.

There was a pick six “whoa is this my ball? I’ll take this ball” for Michael Mohamed right before halftime to make it 31-0. Very late in the fourth, Robert Mullins stripped Ryan Deehan from behind and the ball landed right in Darian Hagan’s chest. Hagan then took the ball 81 yards to cap off the scoring. Although Cal won this game fairly handily, Colorado killed themselves with their own errors. It should’ve been a much closer margin if not for a few unlucky breaks and their own executions in mistake.

Before you knew it, it was 31-0 at halftime, making it the second game in the row the second half doubled for extended garbage time.

Summers-Gavin Should Play, Jarrett Sparks Gametime Decision

Cal’s injury report is rather sparse, but their expected right tackle this season should get some snaps tomorrow. Jonathan Okanes of Bear Talk reports.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford said today that there are no changes to the starting lineup or two-deep. He did say that Matt Summers-Gavin would play some on Saturday, even if they don’t get involved in a lopsided game. They want to get Summers-Gavin some playing time, and even though he won’t start, he will get into the game. Tedford also said Summers-Gavin could play tackle or guard.

Sparks, the third tight end, is questionable after getting his ankle turned up on a Keenan Allen run. True freshman Jacob Wark would take his place.

Darian Hagan Jr. Meets His Dad On Saturday

The star Cal corner will meet the Colorado running back coach/former national championship quarterback across the sidelines on Saturday. However, it's not as heartwarming as it might seem, as Hagan and his dad have only really admired each other from afar.

Hagan and his father are not close -- Hagan Sr. was in college when Bruce gave birth to their son -- but animosity doesn't exist. Bruce married Jerome Bruce when Hagan was 18 months old, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather.

"It's not as strong as we would both like, but it is what it is," Hagan said of his relationship with his father. "We talk every now and again."

Hagan said his father tried to convince him to come to Colorado when he was being recruited out of Crenshaw High-Los Angeles. But Hagan, one of the most heavily recruited defensive backs in the country, decided he wanted to make his own name. He had several major programs from which to choose.

"He was thinking he wanted to have a name for himself and set his path somewhere else. That's pretty much why he didn't come here," Hagan Sr. told CUBuffs.com. "I wasn't going to deter him. I wanted the best decision for him. He considered a lot of things, but it pretty much came down to him being comfortable somewhere he could make a name for himself."

One trail blazed their mark through Boulder, the other is hoping to conclude a satisfying career in Berkeley. Like father, like son.

Darian Hagan becomes a Cal Bear (via HawaiianBear)

Golden Bears Get Ready For Colorado Buffaloes

The Bears moved up to 37th in the Coaches Poll. They still received no votes from the AP Poll.

After missing the UC Davis rout, Matt Summers-Gavin should play against Colorado. He's still playing with the second unit, leading you to believe Donovan Edwards will still get the start at right tackle. And third tight end Jarrett Sparks's status for the game is uncertain.

• On not playing right tackle Matt Summers-Gavin, who missed most of training camp with a knee bruise but returned to practice last week: "We didn’t feel like we needed to risk that." Tedford said Summers-Gavin should play this week, and will continue to work with the second team.

Backup tight end Jarrett Sparks was the only player to be injured against UC Davis. Sparks suffered a sprained ankle but it’s not believed to be serious. Tedford said Sparks may be available for Saturday’s game against Colorado.