Oakland Tribune: Cal must win to deserve bowl

JEFF TEDFORD HAS a chance to make a statement about the state of the Cal football program this week.  No win over Stanford, no bowl game.  Yes, I realize — win or lose — the Bears will be bowl-eligible. But that doesn't mean they're bowl-deserving.  Let's be honest: If Cal were to lose the Big Game, it would finish 6-5, having beaten Sacramento State, Washington, Illinois, New Mexico State, Arizona and Washington State.  That shouldn't earn you a postgame shower at Stanford, let alone a paid vacation over the holidays.  By giving his team the ultimatum, Tedford would be telling his guys — and everyone who pays attention to college football — the Cal program is bigger than the Emerald Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl or wherever the Bears could wind up as the Pac-10's fifth-, sixth- or seventh-place finisher.  Make no mistake about it: Cal will get a bowl bid regardless of the outcome Saturday.  Backing into it — and then accepting — would be prideless.

DATELINE: On center stage. There's a lot of talk about Cal starting Steve Levy in the Big Game, but Tedford can't do that to Joe Ayoob.

Looking at the big picture, Cal needs Ayoob to have his head on straight next season and at least compete with Nate Longshore for the starting job. Both could play significant roles in 2006.  If you bench Ayoob at this point, you destroy him. You get nothing out of him Saturday and set the stage for him to leave the program this off-season.  Worst case scenario: He plays as poorly against Stanford as he did in the losses to Oregon and Southern Cal. Except in this case, at first hint of it, Tedford could pull the plug and insert Levy.  I think Ayoob could be much improved in his second go-around. But he won't be, if he doesn't start Saturday.  

DATELINE: Eight yards deep. I'm no Mike Nolan fan, but let's not blame the legacy selection for everything.  Going for that field goal at the end of the half Sunday was the right thing to do. There really cannot be any questioning it. As Nolan accurately stated (even if he was only half-serious), Joe Nedney has been the best player on the team this season. He deserved a shot at the 52-yarder, even if he were unlikely to make it.   There isn't a coach in the league who wouldn't have taken a shot at it. Heck, three others sent their kicker out for attempts of 46 yards or longer just before halftime on the very same day, and Andy Reid gave David Akers, fresh off a hamstring injury, a crack at a 60-yarder at the end of Monday's game.  Blame Nolan & Co. for the incredibly stupid pass on third-and-33 that crushed the 49ers the week before. But the field goal? Give Nathan Vasher and his Bears blockers credit for one of the best plays in NFL history.

DATELINE: The defense department. The wrong man won the American League MVP award. Either that or the National League honored the wrong guy.  I mean, defense either is a critical component to being an MVP, or it isn't. You can't go both ways.  From where I stand, if you're not a catcher, shortstop or a magician at another position, then your play in the field can be nothing more than a tiebreaker when it comes to determining the MVP. And Alex Rodriguez was so far behind David Ortiz in this year's competition, you hardly needed a photo to separate them.  The Red Sox slugger was a better hitter, a more clutch hitter and a more feared hitter than A-Rod in 2005. The designated hitter should have been the MVP.

Alas, if defense is that important, then how in the world does Albert Pujols beat out Andruw Jones in the NL race? One guy played first base — which is one step removed from being a DH — while the other has been called the greatest center fielder in the history of the game.  The defense-counts/no-it-doesn't split decision is a head-scratcher. I think Ortiz got jobbed.