ERIC GILMORE: TIMES COLUMNIST
(This article has been edited – blog editor)
• There's no truth to the rumor that Stanford football fans will wear paper bags on their heads at the Cardinal's next game Oct. 1 against Oregon at Stanford Stadium. But who could blame them if they did? Last week's 20-17 home loss to UC Davis, a football program in transition from Division II to Division I-AA, was the most embarrassing defeat in Stanford football history. It was also a huge blow to first-year Stanford coach Walt Harris' attempt to revive this reeling program after three losing seasons under Buddy Teevens.
During the Pac-10 football coaches' teleconference on Tuesday, Harris was asked how hard it would be now to get his players to "buy into" his plan. "Well, we'll let you know," Harris said. "We're not practicing right now. Our coaches are on the road recruiting." Smart move.
• The timing of Stanford's stunning loss was perfect -- for Cal.
The 3-0 Bears face 0-3 New Mexico State tonight at Las Cruces, N.M., in a nationally televised game. Any chance of the Bears' taking this game lightly probably ended when they heard about Stanford's loss. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given day," Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob said Tuesday. "That's kind of a good wake-up call for us. "The same situation could happen to us." During coach Jeff Tedford's reign, the Bears have done a great job of beating the cream puffs they were supposed to beat. The one true slip-up came in 2002, Tedford's first season, when the Bears suffered a 52-41 loss to Arizona at Memorial Stadium. Cal entered the game 6-4 after beating Arizona State 55-38. Arizona was 3-7 -- 0-6 in the Pac-10 -- after a 37-7 loss to UCLA. Don't expect a repeat tonight. "We prepare like we're playing the best team in the country every week," Cal running back Marcus O'Keith said.
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