The Bears' loss to the Bruins is big for UCLA . . . and USC.
California was one play last week from possibly entering Saturday's game against UCLA as the nation's No. 1 team. "Thanks," Golden Bears cornerback Brandon Hampton said after being reminded. "I still wish those were the goals." UCLA might have left the Rose Bowl at No. 1 after beating Cal, 30-21, had it not Bruin-cramped against Utah and Notre Dame. "That thought is always going to be there," UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis conceded. Instead, what we got on a gorgeous day in Pasadena was a terrific Pacific 10 Conference game involving teams that are not going to win the national title but may very well affect it. Not exactly what either program had in mind in August when Cal was No. 12 in the preseason Associated Press poll and UCLA was No. 14. Any UCLA and Cal rematch played this season would have to be called the Midas Might Have Been Bowl. Three weekends ago, cuddly Bears fans screamed "We love Tedford" after the Bears beat Oregon in Eugene. "Thanks for coming," Bears Coach Jeff Tedford said to Bears fans as he touched outstretched hands over a railing.
Saturday, after Cal's second consecutive loss, Tedford was left to consider a rest-of-the-season he never imagined. "We still have goals," Tedford insisted in a hallway in the Rose Bowl's bowels. "We still want to win football games." Sandy Barbour, Cal's athletic director, back-slapped broken-down Bears as they trudged off the field to the cliché UCLA chants of "Over-rated." Cal tackle Mike Gibson later tried to conjure up scenarios in which Cal, with two conference losses, could wrangle its way back into any race. "It's real heartbreaking," Gibson said. "With one loss you can still do it. It's still in your hands. Now we've put it in the hands of other people." With three other top-10 teams losing this weekend, No. 10 Cal might have survived a loss to UCLA had time not expired on the Bears last week against Oregon State. Not to be outdone, UCLA botched up its big-picture plans with horrific, inexplicable performances against Utah and Notre Dame. "We could have been No. 1 right now," Bruins guard Shannon Tevaga said. "It hurts a lot, those losses. We should have won those games." Incredibly, UCLA now has more to play for than Cal. The Bruins are 4-0 in Pac-10 play with a clear line to the championship and the Rose Bowl bid.
It would be an amazing, if not diluted, feat. Suppose the team that lost to Utah and Notre Dame faced in the Rose Bowl a Michigan team that lost to Appalachian State? Yet, considering the apoplectic state of Bruins football only minutes before kickoff on Saturday, winning the Pac-10 title now would put UCLA in contention for comeback player of the year. As of now, beating Cal only disrupted the Bowl Championship Series machinery. Short term, it will help USC jump over Cal in the BCS standings. With Cal, No. 2 South Florida, No. 6 South Carolina and No. 8 Kentucky all losing this weekend, UCLA only contributes to USC's getting back in the national title picture. Didn't we tell you that Stanford loss wasn't the end of the Trojans' world? If UCLA really is the team that finally showed up on the third Saturday in October, it can make chopped salad out of the national title race. The Bruins close the season at home against Arizona State on Nov. 10 and play host to Oregon on Nov. 24 before finishing up at USC on Dec. 1. "We're worried about our business," Davis said. "Today is the first stage on the long road to get to the Rose Bowl." Cal can still ruin a perfect season next week at Arizona State, which was idle Saturday. At No. 8, the Sun Devils are the highest ranked Pac-10 team in the BCS standings.
Cal also plays host to USC in Berkeley on Nov. 10 in a game that should still be very important . . . for USC. The Bears have to be kicking their paws after two bad endings on consecutive Saturdays. And now, the idea of playing a spoiler role is almost appalling. "We're not one of those upset teams, like Oregon State," corner Hampton said. "No disrespect to Oregon State, but that's not how we think." That is, though, Bears, what you are. Last year, Cal let a game at Arizona get away the week before facing USC. This year, after a huge win at Oregon, Cal let Oregon State and UCLA slip away. Victory could have been salvaged Saturday as Cal was driving toward what might have been a game-winning field goal. Then UCLA defensive back Alterraun Verner stepped in front of a Nate Longshore pass and raced 76 yards for the game-clinching score. What is it about both these programs when it comes to can't standing success? Last week, Cal was seconds from its first No. 1 ranking since 1951. In the first BCS standings ever released, Oct. 24, 1998, UCLA was No. 1. Remember that? That was years ago.
And losses to Utah and Notre Dame were weeks ago. What a time, though, to pull out something special against Cal. "It just shows we're a force to be reckoned with," Verner said. "Not just in the Pac-10 but in the nation." Too late for UCLA to win any trophy inscribed with "national championship," but not too late to make a season even more interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment