Bears looking to finish on winning note

FORT WORTH - Feeling rejuvenated after a few weeks between games and being given a second chance at extending the season, the California Golden Bears (6-6, 3-6 Pac-10) feel optimistic going into the Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl on Monday (ESPN, 9:30 a.m. PST) against Air Force (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West).

Head coach Jeff Tedford was accompanied by running back Justin Forsett and middle linebacker Greg Van Hoesen at Sunday afternoon's media session.

Van Hoesen, who caused a momentary scare when he fell off the platform prior to the interview session, said that he's noted an extra spark in recent practices.

"Definitely," said Van Hoesen, who has an exhibition of his artwork on display at the team hotel. "A lot of us didn't think we'd get an opportunity to play again after the Big Game.  When we found out, we were pumped.  A lot of teams have to take a few weeks off between their last game and their bowl game, but with our last game coming later in the season, we were ready to get back into competition.   The seniors want to go out on a high note."

Running back Justin Forsett, who'll have a rooting section of more than 200 at TCU's Amon Carter Stadium thinks that the Cal that people will see will be closer to the Golden Bear team that people saw in the first half of the season.

"A lot of guys are getting healthy, and we've got a lot to prove," said Forsett, who goes into Monday with 1,406 yards, and will take aim at the modest Armed Forces Bowl single-game rushing record of 117 yards. "We want to finish with a winning record, we want to send the seniors out on a high note, and we've worked really hard on going back to basics."

Even though Cal was fortunate to find itself in a bowl game after losing six of its last seven games, Tedford thinks that the bowl game has been beneficial to the team.

"Our first week and a half of practice we got a lot of younger guys involved," said Tedford. "It was a nice thing to do, and it was refreshing to have that energy. We had a momentary offseason, and a chance to take a break has helped our enthusiasm. We needed a bowl setting. Our practices have been energetic and enthusiastic and our mindset is that we're looking forward to having one more opportunity."

While the late season injury to Matt Malele hurt the defensive line and caused a major blow to their run defense, the Bears will be rotating players to take Malele's space.

"We'll be using Mika Kane, Derrick Hill, Tyson Alualu and Mike Costanzo," said Tedford.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, who's must have graduated from the Lou Holtz School of Poor Mouthing His Own Team, has regaled the media with tales this week of how undersized and young-looking his team, but he's also sharp to use it as a chance to praise his team's heart.

"We're not a group that's physically impressive sizewise but we've got a bunch of five-star kids," said Calhoun. "We go out across the country and find the most well-rounded people, people who will soon lead the country - whether it's as civic leaders or community leaders. These are the kinds of people you'll pull and root for."

The Falcons use a 3-4 defense ("we use only three defensive linemen, pin our ears back and play like our hair's on fire") as well as a modified version of the option offense that they ran for years under head coach Fisher DeBerry.

"We'll run our offense, sometimes it'll be no huddle, sometimes we'll line up under center and sometimes we'll line up under the shotgun," said Calhoun. "We do this as a way to create flexibility."

Key to what Air Force does is wide receiver Chad Hall, who's very generously listed as 5'8", and ran for 1,415 yards and 14 touchdowns, caught 46 passes for 488 yards, returned 14 punts for a 12.6 yard average as well as 18 kickoffs for a 23.6 yard average.

"I can't wait to see how Cal's going to defend this offense and how they'll stop #1 (Hall) who'll be rushing, receiving, and returning kicks", said ABC/ESPN analyst Dan Fouts. "We'll tell people on the broadcast where he is every time.  He's the most important guy, he'll be the guy making the yards and Cal's going to have to be very alert about where he is."

Hall is concerned about Cal's team speed ("They're real fast and real athletic. In practice we can try to put guys out there, but it's different in a game. We've faced tough, fast defenses against TCU and San Diego State, but speed isn't something you can practice for.") and credits a small adjustment for him doubling his rushing and quadrupling his offensive productivity from a year ago.

"This year they've tried really hard to put me in space and give me a chance to do something," said Hall, who won a Game Day Final helmet sticker after running for 275 yards against Army, "Last year, it seems like everytime I got thae ball I was running towards the sideline and I'd have to change direction.  This year, I'm getting the ball as I'm heading north."

Van Hoesen know that the defense will have to be on its toes, not just with regard to Hall but the entire Falcon offense.

"They've got a pro-style offense and they've got a lot of weapons. We've got to play harder and hope that with our effort we can overcome mistakes," said Van Hoesen. "[Hall]'s a great football player. he's tough, he runs hard, and we'll have our hands full.  Shane Vereen's been of great help to us in trying to prepare for him."

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While Nate Longshore still isn't 100%, he's pretty close, according to Tedford.

"Nate's doing pretty good. He'd need a few weeks off before he'd be 100%, but he's as close to healthy as he's been in a long time," said Tedford.

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With the bowl being the Armed Force Bowl, the sponsorship by a company that does a lot of work with the military, and the participation of Air Force, you'd wonder if Cal's feeling like an afterthought. Yet at each speaking opportunity, Tedford's made a point of thanking the bowl organizers for their efforts in making Cal feel welcome.

"When we talked about playing in the Armed Forces Bowl, we talked about playing the game in honor of the men and women in uniform," said Tedford. "It's a football game, but it stands for more than that."

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Armed Forces Bowl Executive Director Tom Starr credited several factors in helping this year's Armed Forces Bowl become a sell-out.

"The date change helped," said Starr, who's previously been the bowl director of the Sun Bowl and the Freedom Bowl. "From being before Christmas to being on the 31st helped. A lot of people have the 31st free.  The early kickoff helped too, as people know the temperature can change here a lot at night."

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Assorted Tedford comments

"Greg Van Hoesen has provided us with tremendous leadership. He leads by example and every day he's our hardest worker. He's the first one in the weight room, the last one out. He's the guy who fell off the stage, but you saw how quickly he got back up."

"During a season you'll learn a lot of lessons, and adversity can be one of them. Not everything will go the way you want it to, and you have to learn how to be able to handle it."

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Van Hoesen's seen a dramatic increase in his playing time during the past couple of games as the Bears are trying to get a different look at middle linebacker, but he says that that the increase hasn't affected his preparation.

"It makes the games a lot more fun," said Van Hoesen. "Other than that, I'm preparing the same way for every game and trying to do my best to help the team."

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