By Jon Wilner
EUGENE, Ore. - Of the myriad reasons for Cal's emergence as a West Coast power under Coach Jeff Tedford, one is particularly relevant this week. In addition to being well-taught, well-prepared and well-conditioned, the Bears appear to be extremely well-Oregonized. Tedford, who was Oregon's offensive coordinator before arriving at Cal in December 2001, has modeled his program so closely on Oregon's that some have taken to calling Cal ``Oregon South.'' That's not a bad thing to be. Over the past decade, Oregon has been the best-run football program in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Ducks are hip, they're rich, and they win. ``I have a lot of respect for the way they do business there on a daily basis,'' said Tedford, whose No. 16 Golden Bears host the No. 11 Ducks on Saturday in a showdown to determine which team challenges USC for the conference title. ``Administratively, fundraising, whatever it may be, they've done a great job with it.''
In his five years in Berkeley, Tedford has hired -- or persuaded Cal to hire -- a dozen former Oregon players, coaches and administrators, including a fundraiser whose job is to secure the remaining $15 million Cal needs to break ground on the athletic performance center that's considered vital to the future of the program.
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