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#1

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#1
Bruce Feldman, who picked Cal to win by 7 over UT:



What was I thinking with Cal?


posted: Monday, September 4, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry

I feel so foolish. I bought into this whole Cal-is-a-powerhouse business. Fell for the Jeff Tedford could make any QB into a star, too. Got sold that the Bears could lose all those supposedly great O-linemen and not miss anything. That David Cutcliffe couldn't even hold a clipboard next to Tedford. And now after seeing the Bears fall behind 35-0 in their 35-18 loss to Tennessee and sifting through the Deleted Items bin of my e-mail to find the missive from that Cal diehard that came in late Friday night talking about how all of us media folks still aren't giving the Bears defense their due, I have seen the light.

Cal is like that girl you convinced yourself was so perfect, but then something happened, and suddenly it all became clear. You broke up. It stung, but you realized all her faults, all the ones that you can't believe you didn't notice before. Fact is, Cal hasn't beaten anyone in the last three years. The Bears' big statement game was its close loss to USC in 2004. They griped about being left out of the BCS mix that season and then were lit up by Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl. Last season, they weren't much better than a middle-of-the-road Mountain West squad.
After seeing a Tennessee offense, which ranked 101st in the nation in scoring last season, post 35 points in a little more than two quarters, I doubt anyone will take Cal very seriously again for a very long time. Overreaction? Maybe. But I think if the Bears could knock off USC, they probably still would not get back into the top 15. And of course, this blowout has big-picture meaning. Whenever folks talk about the Pac-10 being soft, this Cal-Tennessee game will always come up first. It will live in infamy out here on the West Coast.
Sure, USC crushed Arkansas again, but truth is, no one, not even Pac-10 haters, have the gall to question the Trojans' legitimacy. But it's that next batch of the Pac-10's supposed heavyweights that never seems to hold up their end. Random Stuff
• Knee-jerk reaction: Has Erik Ainge undergone a Brady Quinn-like transformation?
 
#2
#2
Pretty funny . . . I still don't see what could possibly have made people think Cal was a top 10 team? The numbers just didn't support it.
 
#3
#3
I almost feel sorry for Cal. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, both in the polls and Knoxville.
 
#5
#5
I know Cal didnt look great but I dont think they are as bad as everyone is now saying they are. We were that good Saturday.

My Bama friend told me that he was glad that they didnt play us Sat. He said this and I quote. "Yall looked scary today. Yall looked like a bunch of Starving Pittbulls" You have to know him to know what it must have took for him to say that. He is a BAMMER to the core. He never has had anything positive to say about us.
 
#7
#7
lazy i agree with you before we beat cal everyone was say how great they are but then we STOMPED em and yes we got credit but most people are just saying they were overrated, but we are JUST THAT GOOD
 
#8
#8
I know its only One Game but there is something special about this group of kids. They got Fire in their Bellies and a Chip on their Shoulder. The offense (Barring a lot of Injuries) will only get better and heck our defence is going to be among the best in the nation again.

There is no reason why we cant take the East, and maybe even the championship this year.
 
#9
#9
Pretty funny . . . I still don't see what could possibly have made people think Cal was a top 10 team? The numbers just didn't support it.
Gee, glad to see Feldman figured out what I've been saying on this board since May.
 
#10
#10
everytime i think about that game saturday, it runs cold chills down my whole body and i get goose bumps, i was giddy as a little girl, we had our local pub so loud there were about 7 of us at a table, we drank 9 pitcures of beer between the 4 drinking, even the people at the other tables were into the game and on there feet, and we live 90 miles north east of knoxville.
 
#12
#12
As long as it helps our cause, I'm fine with it.

Schedules and timing are very important.

Georgia's 48-13 win against an overhyped Boise State team last season vaulted the Dawgs into the top 10 where they resided for most of the remainder of the season. Had they not lost back-to-back games to start November, they would have been in the national championship mix.

In contrast, Auburn's 2004 opening 31-0 victory over UL-Monroe moved them from 17th to 18th in the polls. Their weak schedule aided in the slow climb in the polls that season and kept them from a shot at the national title.

Right now, the BCS Championship Game participants are a toss up. Ohio State and Texas meet during the regular season, so that knocks out one. Notre Dame looked very beatable, and has a tough schedule. Southern Cal is 6th and probably moving up, but they still have to play Cal :unsure: . LSU and Florida are on the Vols' schedule. If the Vols keep winning, they'll probably meet Auburn in the SECCG. West Virginia is... well, they play in the Big East. Oklahoma looked like UT against UAB from the Vols opener last season. Florida State did not impress either in last nights game.

The Vols well timed schedule could be to their advantage. The Cal win just gets them up closer to the elite teams. A win over Florida would vault them into discussions of national championship contender. A four-game stretch into November that includes Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and LSU could vault them near the top. And if they aren't already in either of the top 2 BCS spots, beating Auburn in the SECCG would definately get them into BCSCG.

Of course, with all the problems the Vols had in 2005, they seemed to be within reach of winning each game in the 4th quarter. How will this year's Vols react to a close game in the 4th quarter? Hopefully much better than last season.
 
#13
#13
I almost feel sorry for Cal. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, both in the polls and Knoxville.


How true...how true.

If Cal had not been locked into that schedule several years back, they would've backed out. No one wanted to be a Cal Saturday. Any team could've been substituted. The colors just happened to be golden and blue.
 
#14
#14
Nice post OldVol. Good points. In addition, if we pull off the major victories this season, I'd add that our non-conf schedule is a big plus. All of ours are major D1-A. None this year are exactly patsies either. All could beat us if we overlook them. No Akrons, Lafayettes, etc. There are some big matchups out there...Texas/OSU, CAL/USC, FSU/UM, etc., but those are only one game. FSU I would say has one of the toughest buckets. although Miami is now conference play, they weren't always, and they still play every year. And they have UF to boot. And the ACC run is not as "easy" as it used to be.
 
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