SF Chronicle: Cal seems set for Emerald Bowl

Rusty Simmons

It looks like the Cal football team might be home for the holidays. Emerald Bowl executive director Gary Cavalli said Sunday he's "optimistic" that he can reach an agreement to leap-frog the Las Vegas Bowl and grab the fourth-place Bears for the Dec. 27 game at AT&T Park.  "I would like nothing better; we'd be absolutely thrilled," Cavalli said. "I think we'll be able to go into Saturday with a decision everyone is comfortable with, but it's premature to say 'It's a sure thing.' "  Cal (7-4) probably would play Wake Forest or Miami (Fla.), which each are 7-5.  The Pac-10 subcommittee on bowls agreed in 2006 to let the Las Vegas and Emerald bowls alternate the conference's fourth- and fifth-place teams. Las Vegas has the fourth choice this season, but executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said her bowl could be interested in Arizona or Arizona State, which are tied for fifth and play each other Saturday.

She said the committee will have a conference call Tuesday and make a recommendation for selection from there. Though Kunzer-Murphy positively mentioned the proximity of the Arizona schools to Las Vegas, she also left open the option of choosing Cal. "We've never had Arizona schools, so that would probably be quite attractive to our committee," she said. "Their fans can get here rather quickly, but we have to look at overall results, too. To have a team win their way into our game is always nice. "Either way, we'll end up with two great choices." The only other thing that could get in the way of Cal's berth in the Emerald Bowl is a UCLA upset over USC on Saturday. That would put Oregon State back in the Rose Bowl, USC in the Holiday Bowl and El Paso's Sun Bowl probably would pick Cal over Oregon because the Ducks played there last year.

If Cal plays in the Emerald Bowl, the team will stay in a San Francisco hotel and participate in activities in the city. The Bears, however, will bus back to practice in Strawberry Canyon each day.  "I've been to San Francisco many times, so I can't see it feeling like we're at a bowl game," said sixth-year senior receiver Sean Young, who is from Berkeley. "At the same time, we're excited to play here and give our fans the opportunity to attend another game."