Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Sports Illustrated: Stewart Mandel College Football Mailbag

At Cal, Jeff Tedford has turned the football program into a perennial contender for the Pac-10 and BCS bowls. Is there a realistic sequence of events that puts Cal in the BCS championship game this year or next?

-- Ernest, Benicia, Calif.

 

Obviously, this season looks like a long-shot at this point, even if the Bears beat USC and finish 11-1. They're going to need about five teams ahead of them to lose. That Tennessee game just killed Cal. Remember, the Bears started the season ranked in the top 10. If they'd lost that game by a close margin, my guess is they'd be higher in the polls right now, but as it was, they spiraled 13 spots and have had to spend the entire season trying to make it back up.  That said, if the Bears win out and either beat or play well against Ohio State or Michigan in the Rose Bowl, they have a chance to position themselves nicely for a title run in 2007. QB Nate Longshore, WR DeSean Jackson and at least 11 other starters will be back (not sure about Marshawn Lynch), and most importantly, the Vols come to Berkeley this time, again in the first week of the season.

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