Before you band-wagon fans bitch & moan and give up on Cal, let me explain to you why I'm not giving up on Cal getting to the Rose Bowl just yet (not until we lose again anyway).

It's pretty simple, really. Consider the following scenario:

1. Cal wins out - obviously, this is the absolute pre-requisite for Cal to have a chance to go to the Rose Bowl.
2. USC wins out except against Cal (includes beating Oregon this week)
3. UCLA loses at least 2 games (vs ASU, USC, Oregon, Wazzu, Arizona) - yes they beat us, but come on... I can't imagine UCLA not losing at least 2 of these.

Now, what of the three items above seems improbable? None. In fact, all three seem very possible. Cal winning out, at this point, seems to be longest shot.

So, guess what happens if the 3 things above actually do happen: We are going to the Rose Bowl. If there's a 3 or 4-way tie at 7-2, Cal would win the tie-breaker because we'd have beaten Oregon and USC. Pretty simple right?

Now, you might think, what if Oregon doesn't lose another game? After all, they are looking pretty damn strong right now. Well, in that scenario, Cal still has a real good shot of going to the Rose Bowl because then, Oregon would probably get invited to the National Championship Game. A one-loss Pac-10 team probably would be enough to make it to the NCG. In that case, Cal would be the next choice for the Rose Bowl.

So, it comes down to this: We win out, we have a very very good chance of going to the Rose Bowl. So, please. Don't give up yet Cal fans.

If this still sounds like too much, let me break it down one more level: If both USC and Cal win this weekend, it's game on - we'll be right back in the driver's seat for the Rose Bowl bid and that Nov.10 game will be as important as it looked 3 weeks ago. Again, don't give up yet.

Go Bears! Go beat the Sun Devils this week!

No words can aptly describe the frustration I feel right now.

I don't want to talk about it.

This is too funny...(assuming you know about Mike Gundy of Oklahoma St.)

Although Cal had a bye week, this past week turned out to be perhaps one of the most important weeks of the whole season for the Bears (who, btw, is now ranked #2 in the nation). Let me attempt to break it down as thoroughly as possible.

U$C Condoms losing to Stanfurd - Although my head was telling me that SC should win out until the showdown against us (setting up a possible #1 vs #2), my heart was rooting for the Cardinals. I mean, how can I not root against the arrogant Pete Carroll and the spoiled bunch at $C? However, Furd's win does bring a modified (perhaps for the worse) set of scenarios for the Bears to make it to either the Rose Bowl or the National Championship Game. Here are some of the possible scenarios:

1. If Cal runs the table and go undefeated, we will go to the National Championship Game. This is the best case scenario.
   
   
2. If Cal loses to U$C (and end up 11-1), and U$C runs the table from now (also 11-1), it could end up just like last year, when we were Pac-10 co-champs and $C got invited to the Rose Bowl, and we went to the Holiday Bowl. In my mind, this is THE worst, but realistic, scenario.
   
   
3. Same as scenario #2, except U$C ends up climbing back up to top 2 and go to the championship game (very possible since it would mean that they beat Oregon, ASU, and us on the road), and Cal ends up being invited to the Rose Bowl. This scenario was in place before Furd beat $C. Still a possibility, but a distant one for sure (esp with Ohio St. playing well in a crappy conference).
   
   
4. U$C loses more Pac-10 games before the season ends, regardless of whether they beat us or not, and we end up winning the Pac-10. In this scenario (which seems quite likely at this moment), we will either go to the National Championship Game or the Rose Bowl. I like this scenario in that we could lose a game, but still go to a BCS game.
   

As you can see, Furd's win changed one of the possible scenarios (#3). If USC were to stay undefeated and go to the championship game, it would've given us an 'easier' road to the Rose Bowl. Speaking of U$C, onto the next item.

U$C Overrated? - Could it be? Could it really be that U$C is overrated this season? At this moment, yes - YES - it could be. Besides the fact that they just fell victim to the BIGGEST upset in college football history (according to Vegas), they were coming off of a crappy game - a near loss - at Washington. Their 'quality wins' consist of ... beating Nebraska on the road, which at this point doesn't really look that impressive (Nebraska just got raped by Missouri by 30+ points). So, they have no 'quality wins', and just lost to a 40-point underdog, Stanford, AT HOME! Yeah, I'd say they were a bit overrated. Now, this is still $C we're talking about - with all their 5-star recruits and gigantic pride. They could bounce back from all this and start playing like a contender as soon as next weekend. So stay tuned for more on $C analysis...

Polls - I wanna give mad props to the voters (most of them anyway) for not penciling in Ohio St. at number 2. Yes OSU had a quality win at Purdue, but seriously, Cal's win at Oregon cannot, and should not, be forgotten this soon. I'm glad the voters for AP, USA Today, and Harris polls got it right. Yay yayee.

TV Analysts - I'm starting to really like Kirk Herbstreit. He actually watches Pac-10 football and gives us proper respect. Both Cal and Oregon are in his top 5. Mark May of ESPN, on the other hand, is an idiot. He's been picking against Cal from the beginning of the season (Tennessee, Oregon). And after OSU's win on Saturday, he was adamant that OSU should be ranked #2, not Cal. Mark May is an idiot.

Tennessee - The Vols looked real sharp in whupping Georgia on Saturday. Georgia was ranked #12 at the time, and favored by pretty much all experts to win. This victory by Tennessee, and perhaps their resurgence as a SEC powerhouse, could really help Cal as the season progresses. I can't believe they're not ranked by the coaches - their only 2 losses came against Cal and Florida...

Arizona St. - Now that U$C lost, Cal and ASU are the only undefeated teams in the Pac-10. And experts are naturally beginning to hype up their upcoming match on Oct. 27. the game will be in Tempe, AZ. But seriously, ASU hasn't done anything special in my opinion. All they did was beat the teams they were supposed to beat. After watching them play Wazzu on Saturday, I've concluded that they will be over-matched when they face Cal. Until then, they could enjoy their 7-0 record and high ranking.

The Ducks are who we thought they were.