With Cal Spring Football postponed until at least March 30th, UC Berkeley as a whole moving to remote instruction for the remainder of the semester, and Cal Athletics suspending spring sports altogether, we're taking a dive into games of the past and some of the greatest moments in the history of Cal Football. Today we continue with a look at a 2007 game against Tennessee

Previous Installments: 2019 Big Game

23 seconds from the long-snap of the punt to the end of Desean Jackson's famed punt return touchdown against Tennessee. Enough time to successfully wash your hands to the sound of Brent Musburger's excitement, caused by perhaps the most electrifying athlete to grace the turf of California Memorial Stadium.

(:53 seconds into the video below)

The Jackson punt return may be the most memorable thing about this game from an outside perspective, but this was a massive game for Cal, one of the most attended contests of the last fifteen years in Berkeley, and a game that could be considered the zenith of the Jeff Tedford era at Cal.

- Cal came in off a 10-3 season in 2006, a Daymeion Hughes pass interference call away from a Rose Bowl (or a couple of shoes sizes for Jackson). One of those three losses came in the opener to Tennessee, where Cal fans who made the trip to Knoxville got to see a 35-18 mollywhopping. Multiple Cal players discussed the contest as a chance for revenge

- Multiple big departures for the Bears from 2006, including RB Marshawn Lynch, ILB Desmond Bishop, DB Daymeion Hughes. Their replacements, RB Justin Forsett, ILB Worrell Williams, and DB Syd'Quan Thompson, all had prior starting experience, but now had the role of being 'the guy' at their position.

- The National TV Audience seeing Cal, as the 'SEC speed' mantra was mentioned several times during the broadcast.

- The tree-sitters. In true Berkeley spirit, there was a long protest against the university's plan to build a new performance center/locker room area where a grove of oak trees stood at this point. A group of protesters, led by one-time Berkeley mayoral candidate Zachary Runningwolf (who at one point linked the cutting down of trees to a plot of the Illuminati and the Masons) took up residence in the trees for 21 months while a lawsuit made its way through the court system. A fence was constructed around the oak grove prior to the game to prevent confrontation between the protestors and fans. The trees were eventually cut down in September of 2008, more than a year after this game.

- A couple big debuts for freshmen on both sides

Cal: RB Jahvid Best took his first carries as a true freshman for the Bears

Tennessee: DB Eric Berry made his first appearance on defense for the Volunteers

- A small but important piece, kicker Tom Schneider, who had come into his own through 2006, got injured in pre-pregame warmups. That meant Jordan Kay, legend of the AEPi fraternity, would be the Bears' kicker all year.

- The other big moment of this game came from Zack Follett and Williams, who combined for a massive sack/fumble/return TD with a hit on Tennessee QB Erik Ainge. Follett blitzed from the slot, came untouched to Ainge's back, speared the Tennessee QB, forcing a fumble. Williams caught it on a bounce with one hand and rumbled to the house.

- Ainge had one of his better days, despite the early sack. He completed 14 of his first 15 passes, including one to future Houston Texan Arian Foster, who eluded a couple tackles to tie the game at 7

- The tackling in this game is not particularly great, mainly due to the missed tackles throughout. Some of it is thanks to the level of talent. Most of it is not.

- There's so many hits in this game that would probably be called targeting/unsportsmanlike conduct. One that sticks out is on Robert Jordan's touchdown reception, a jailbreak screen, Jackson gets leveled by a Tennessee defender on the other side of the field (at 1:09:58 in the game)

- The first big run by Jahvid Best, who ran a 10.31 100m in high school (1:07:36 in) comes on a toss play. Best ran a 10.39 in his 100m heat at the 2016 Olympics, where he competed for St. Lucia

- Brent Musburger was not a fan of the treesitters

- Forsett, who after three season as a backup, finally had the starring role. He rushed for over 100 yards in this game, and gave Cal a 10 point halftime lead as he set up Kay's first career field goal with a 49 yard reception on a screen pass. (1:20:00 in). He finished the game with 26 carries for 156 yards and a score, along with the 49 yard reception.

- The 2007 season rose and fell on the back of Nate Longshore, who was at his best at this point. The Cal QB, who had notably grown out his hair, gotten engaged prior to the season, and stopped leaving two tickets for Jessica Simpson prior to every game, completed 19 of 28 passes for 241 yards and 2 TDs.

- The amount of NFL talent in this game is staggering. You have the big pieces, Jackson, Berry, and Alex Mack who are still playing 13 years later. Then you have the other big ones, like Forsett, Best, Follett, Thomas Decoud, Lavelle Hawkins, Tyson Alualu, Brian De La Puente, and Chris Conte, who all spent time in the league. Cam Jordan, one of the best defenders in the NFL, was a true freshman at this point. Tennessee had a handful of NFL talent as well, with Jerod Mayo, Robert Ayres, and Foster among others playing big roles in the NFL

- This was the third time Cal wore their yellow jerseys, which were introduced a year earlier for a primetime game with Oregon. Cal is 12-6 in yellow jerseys since their introduction in 2006, most recently taking home a win over Washington State.

- The 45-31 final showed outwardly that Cal was ready for the national stage, at this moment. The rest of the season didn't prove that.

- Cal finished 2007 7-6 (3-6 in conference play), with a last second loss to Oregon State keeping the Bears from their first #1 ranking in the BCS era.

- The Bears dropped six out of their final eight games on the year, pulling out a 21 point comeback against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl behind Kevin Riley

- Tennessee finished 10-4 on the year, finishing 12th in the final AP poll. They would go 5-7 in 2008, firing Phillip Fullmer, hiring Lane Kiffin, and kicking off a decade marked by craziness, turnover trash cans, Jon Gruden rumors, and ultimately a return to some level of normalcy recently under Jeremy Pruitt.

- Memorial Stadium has since been renovated, the max capacity nearly 10,000 people fewer than at this point. It hasn't been as packed since. This is what the Bears are attempting to return to.