San Jose Mercury: Early kickoffs for Stanford and Cal

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Cal visits Maryland on Saturday for a game that begins at noon EDT, 9 a.m. on the West Coast. Cal linebacker Zack Follett said he was in junior high school the last time he played a game that started at 9 a.m.  The Bears aren't arriving in College Park until Friday afternoon, but Coach Jeff Tedford has had his players spend the week setting up their sleeping patterns to get accustomed to the new time zone.  "We're going to start trying to get acclimated, get our body chemistry acclimated to the East coast," Tedford said. "We're going to get our body clock going a couple days early, to make sure that when we wake up, it's not anything new for us."  Tedford said he considered having the team travel on Thursday, but was concerned about having a full day of down time. And he also simply said, "I just don't think you need to fly there to get acclimated. I think you can acclimate yourself right here."  The Bears played a 9 a.m. game (Pacific) at Illinois in 2002, Tedford's second year at Cal. He said they took the same tactic then and beat the Illini, 31-24. "It's going to be an early game for us so we'll definitely have to do something to get our bodies ready for it," Follett said. "We'll be ready for it. I don't think we should come out flat."

The Bears plan on flying early Friday morning and the players have been instructed to stay awake on the flight, so they will get to bed at a reasonable time.  Saturday's Cal-Maryland game will feature two of the top seven running backs in the country. Maryland's Da'Rel Scott is tied for fourth nationally in rushing (160 yards per game) and Cal's Jahvid Best is ranked seventh (155.5 ypg).  The Bears defense already has shut down one of the nation's top runners, holding Michigan State's Javon Ringer to 81 yards in the season opener. "(Scott) is a great back," Follett said. "He has the quickness to make you miss, the power to run you over and once he gets into the open field, he can be gone. We have to take this running back for real. I think he might be one of the best ones we face." Best is coming off a 200-yard performance last week against Washington State, a game in which he had two touchdown runs of at least 80 yards. Tedford said punter Bryan Anger (knee) was a little sore after Saturday's win over Washington State. Anger has rested most of this week but is expected to play against the Terps. Cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson is tied for the national lead with three interceptions.