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!