SF Examiner: Even with a loss, Golden Bears have opportunity to roar back on the scene

By Rob Calonge

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Now that the heartbreaking loss has begun to fade and the reality of lost prestige has sunk in, it's not so difficult to look ahead and see that this bye week may be exactly what Cal needed in order to refocus their energies on the task at hand, winning the Pac-10.  Is it crazy to think that the Bears could run the table after the embarrassing loss last Saturday to Maryland?  Even though they probably lost to a team that won't be a contender on the national stage, they still have plenty of opportunities to bounce back and become what they were before losing in 2007 to Oregon State, a national power.
There are times that a bye week is actually a bad thing.  It can be bad if your team is firing on all cylinders and the time off cools the team off in any way, but this bye week will allow the team to get more of an appreciation for what it will take in order for them to succeed this season.

Tedford, in his weekly blog wrote:

We have had a good bye week; the players have been working hard and have been very focused on getting better every day. The bye week is always a great opportunity to get the younger guys some more reps and see what they can do, and it gives some of our bumps and bruises a little time to heal. That being said, we have been more physical have gone live more this week than any other bye week.

What could be considered success for this team?  Is it a +.500 season that gets them to any bowl game at the end of the season?  Does it require them to get into a mid-major bowl?  Winning the Pac-10 and getting into a BCS would be great, but is that their goal?  I subscribe to the theory that rankings won't matter, but winning their conference does.  After losing a game, I don't think the Bears will be too worried about winning the National Championship any time soon, but they should still keep their sights set on winning the Pac-10 and going to a BCS Bowl.

Achieving this goal will require what this team seems to have been doing all along, forgetting about past stumbles and focusing on the next game.  There are a million excuses that can be made about losing to Maryland last week, but none of them matter now.  The fact that they took the Maryland game lightly, probably waited to long to make the trip cross-country, the early start time, etc.. are all excuses of a loser.  While it doesn't appear that this team will sulk until they are an afterthought on the national stage, they all need to hold themselves accountable, look in the mirror, and fix what needs to be fixed prior to taking on Colorado State next Saturday.

The important thing we need to remember is that it's more about us; all of the things that it takes to be successful are in our control. It's not so much about the opponent, it's about us taking care of our business. We need to do a better job of that. - Jeff Tedford

The Rams are another team, like Maryland, that has no business making the contest a close game.  Despite the 2-1 record, this Cal team is more talented than past teams and more mature than last year's team.  Next year, they'll be a national story again, but only if they begin to take care of their business now.  They have one last 'preseason' game before all of their cards need to be on the table.

We get the chance to get back out on the field next Saturday and try to erase this taste from our mouths. I'm looking forward to another strong week of practice and I think our guys are also ready to go. - Jeff Tedford