Game summaries California Pregame line: California by 6 Tennessee dropped its opening game for the first time in over a decade, losing on the road to California by the score of 45–31. The Vols traveled to Berkeley for the return trip in a home-and-home series with the California Golden Bears. After Cal's loss to Tennessee the previous year, some observers and college football personalities such as LSU coach Les Miles had questioned the strength of the Pac-10. During the game, a plane with the banner "SEC rules, Pac-10 drools" flew overhead. With a solid lead in the fourth quarter, Cal fans chanted "Pac-10 football" to the Tennessee fans who had already begun leaving the stadium. Tennessee gave up the opening points when an Erik Ainge pass flew backwards, when he was hit while trying to release it. California's Worrell Williams, recovered the fumble and returned it 45 yards for the score. Cal WR DeSean Jackson also scored at touchdown on a 77-yard punt return. Cal QB Nate Longshore was 19-of-28 for 240 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown. Tennessee traveled to California for the first time since playing UCLA in 1994, Peyton Manning's freshman year. Tennessee had won 12 straight season openers. The Vols opening game was on the road for the first time since 1998, when they defeated Syracuse. QB Erik Ainge played game despite suffering a broken pinky in practice. He was 32-of-47 for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jeff Tedford commented on the "revenge factor" before the game: It's not really revenge, I think, if anything, it's redemption. But it's more about us, it's not so much about Tennessee. We didn't play very well last year when we went there and probably got caught a little too much focusing on them and the environment and that type of thing. So at practice this year, we're really just focusing on ourselves if we go out and play to our potential then we'll have a chance to be successful. Last year we didn't come close to our potential so we had no chance. Of course it's a big game like it was last year, two ranked teams, so there's a lot of people watching it to see what's going on. It wasn't that we lost the game last year, I think it was the way we lost the game last year that was the devastating part of