Tennessee brought Cal's hype to a Rocky Stop at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night.

Golden Bears coach Jeff Tedford, whose team trailed 35-0 before the Vols pulled their starters en route to a 35-18 win, wasn't making any excuses.

"We got beat by a better football team that executed better than we did on this day,'' said Tedford, whose team was picked to win the national championship by ESPN commentator Lee Corso. "I didn't get the impression anyone was taking anyone lightly; our guys came into the game focused.''

Perhaps, but some heavy hitting from Tennessee combined with a raucous crowd of 106,009 blurred things a bit.

Cal's Craig Stevens, a 6-foot-5, 254-pound tight end, was the first to feel the pain of the Vols' pent-up frustrations coming off a 5-6 season.

Stevens was leveled on the opening kick and had to be helped off the field.

"For Craig Stevens to be like that,'' Tedford said, "something is wrong because he's the toughest kid on our team.''

The Neyland Stadium faithful had all of the Bears' ears ringing throughout the game.

"It's static noise,'' said Nate Longshore, who started the game at quarterback for Cal but was pulled in the second half after an 11-of-20, 85-yard passing performance that included an interception. "You can't hear anything. You go up and down the line, your wide receivers, your running backs, your tight ends, nobody can hear. Nobody.''

Asked if he had ever been in a comparable football environment, Tedford paused with a thoughtful look before responding: "No.''

Tedford said he'd need to see film before expounding on tactical elements of the game, but he made it clear fundamental aspects doomed his No. 9-ranked Bears before they could get off the ground.

"We didn't execute in many phases. We didn't catch, and we didn't tackle well, which is unusual for us,'' Tedford said. "They played more physical than us.''

Tedford said UT defensive coordinator John Chavis crossed him up a bit with the Vols' coverage packages.

"We didn't see as much bump-and-run,'' Tedford said. "I expected more man(-to-man) coverage. They played off a little bit.''

Lynch Pin: Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch said he felt he had a good performance and wouldn't do anything differently after his 12-carry, 74-yard effort.

"They had a great game plan, big ups to them,'' Lynch said. "They play great defense, but there's a lot of great defenses in the Pac-10, too.''

Tedford said Lynch suffered a minor injury to his lower leg on the opening kick, but both he and Lynch said it didn't affect the tailback's performance.

Ainge Surprised: Cal cornerback Daymeion Hughes said Erik Ainge's efficiency caught the Bears off guard.

"He didn't make a lot of mistakes. We thought he was more of a gunslinger,'' Hughes said. "We saw a more conservative, one-route offense.''