BY JOHN SHIPLEY
Minnesota has worked the underdog angle many times over the past several seasons, with little success. The Gophers generally lose when they're expected to, and they're expected to lose Saturday at No. 22 California. But they might have something extra going for them this week. The Bears are playing with expectations that haven't been heaped on them in decades, and they collapsed under the weight last weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. — smoked 35-18 by the Volunteers in their season opener. There's no shame in losing in front of 106,000 Tennessee fans, but Cal fell behind 35-0 in its debut as a title contender. Picked by many to win the Pacific 10 Conference and by some to win a national championship, the Bears were ranked No. 9 in the preseason poll. "We didn't take any of that into account," Bears linebacker Desmond Bishop said. "The coaches have put it in our minds that if we take it one game at a time, all the other stuff will take care of itself. I don't think it was about the hype. Things got out of hand, and we never recovered."
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