IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT CAL SITTING IN AN UNUSUAL POSITION, ALL ALONE IN FIRST PLACE.

Byline: JILL PAINTER Staff writer

Marshawn Lynch had just scored the winning touchdown in overtime against Washington, and an ordinary touchdown celebration of hugs, spikes or wild dance moves wouldn't suffice.

Instead, Lynch hopped in the driver's seat of an athletic trainer's cart and careened through Memorial Stadium, avoiding players and coaches with every turn of the wheel.

While it may not have been the message he was trying to send at the time, one thing is clear: Cal is in the driver's seat in the Pacific-10 Conference, and UCLA, USC and everyone else better watch out.

Cal (7-1) is in command of the Pac-10 with a 5-0 conference record, which is unfamiliar territory, to be sure. Cal hasn't played in the Rose Bowl or won the conference title outright since 1958. The Bears are ranked 10th in the BCS standings and the Associated Press poll.

The Golden Bears, coming off a bye week, will play host Saturday to the struggling Bruins (4-4), who have lost three consecutive games.

The Bears are alone on top, thanks to USC's unexpected loss at Oregon State last week.

``It's nice right now,'' said Nate Longshore, Cal's sophomore quarterback, who attended Canyon High of Canyon Country. ``It's always nice to be in first place. That's why you play the game. But at the same time, it doesn't matter. The only ranking that matters is at the end of the year, and we understand that we need to continue playing well to be there at the end of the year.''

Cal's skill players -- Lynch, Longshore, receiver Lavelle Hawkins and cornerback Daymeion Hughes -- are blazing a new path, leading the Bears' resurgence as one of the country's premier teams.

It didn't seem likely at the start of the season. While Cal had high hopes, sporting a seemingly unfair number of big-play athletes, it bombed in its season debut, a 35-18 loss at Tennessee. The Volunteers jumped to a 35-0 lead in front of 106,009fans, the largest crowd to ever watch a Cal game. Longshore was benched after completing just 11 of 20 passes for 85 yards and an interception.

``That loss was a wake-up call for us,'' Longshore said. ``We had that high ranking, we expected to do well all season and maybe we went in not exactly focused on the game. The next week in practice, we had the best practice we had all year. We came out more focused. It was a tough loss, though. You don't want to get embarrassed on national TV like that, but maybe it was probably best.''

Cal has played the role of contender ever since. Its high-powered offense has the Bears gunning for a conference championship and BCS bowl game.

Longshore, who has thrown for 1,877 yards and 17 touchdowns, has said he has an easy job because he's surrounded by playmakers.

Lynch leads the Pac-10 in rushing with 113.4 yards per game and is eighth in the country in all-purpose yards per game (153). He has run for 947 yards and eight scores, averaging 6.9 yards per carry -- and he didn't even play in the second half of games against Oregon and Portland State because of an ankle injury.

Receiver DeSean Jackson has eight touchdown receptions and Hawkins has had two games of 100 or more receiving yards.

The Bears' defense is not too shabby, either. The Bears rank second in the country with 18 interceptions, five of which came in the win over Washington. Hughes has seven interceptions, two of which he's returned for touchdowns.

Cal has the best turnover margin, a category USC used to own, in the conference at plus-10.

USC has dominated the Pac-10 and national stage, playing for the national title the past three seasons, and it wasn't all that long ago that the Bears were a mess.

Now, Cal can claim it is one of the nation's best turnaround stories.

When the teams met in November of 2001, Cal was 0-10. Cal won that game and avoided its first winless season since 1897. Five years later, the Bears are vying for a BCS bowl.

The Bears have steadily improved -- this is the team that beat USC in 2003 before the Trojans started their dominating run -- but they haven't won the conference or played in a BCS bowl, yet.

Cal doesn't have much experience leading the Pac-10, but Hawkins doesn't believe that matters. What does matter is how the Bears are perceived around the country.

``I think we'll handle this well,'' Hawkins said. ``We don't pay attention to those kinds of things anyway. I just want people to think we're a good football team. Normally guys think the Pac-10 is soft.''

Cal was soft not that long ago. When Tedford was hired, he inherited that 1-10team. His 2002 Bears went 7-5, and since he took over, Cal is 40-18.

But he's not ready to crown his team just yet, not with the game against USC still looming.

``There's a lot of football to be played, and every team in our conference is playing well,'' Tedford said. ``It's one game at a time. UCLA's a good football team, and they're coming in here anxious to get a win. You know you're going to get everybody's `A' game. It's really important that we stay focused on one day at a time, one play at a time. I'm not surprised with anything in this conference.''

[e-mail]

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) LONGSHORE

(2 -- color) MARSHAWN LYNCH

(3) Coach Jeff Tedford has led California to a 40-18 record since taking over in 2002.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Box:

(1) UCLA vs. CAL

(2) PAC-10 STANDINGS