Duck Voodoo!! Fucked, WE ARE FUCKED.

He’s making me uneasy.

The things that point in Cal’s favor this week are (1) Cal won last year despite multiple turnovers; (2) Oregon’s offense is worse this year; (3) Cal’s offense is better this year; (4) Oregon might have lost a bit more on defense from last year than Cal, and (5) TJ Ward is out, and a RS freshman is playing in his place.

The things that should worry Cal fans are (1) It’s only a matter of time before Oregon’s offense starts clicking – it happens every year; (2) It’s only a matter of time before teams figure out how to take some things away from Cal offensively – it happens every year; (3) There is a good chance Best is not able to shake loose this week, and Cal has yet to prove it can win in that scenario – it lost almost every game last year in which that happened (the exception, you guessed it, Oregon – go figure); and (4) No offensive player except Tepper has taken a meaningful snap in that stadium. And now I am hearing Thompson may be a scratch due to the flu.

I am not saying this is going to be a disaster for Cal. But I just can’t see Cal having its way with Oregon. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if they do, and not surprised if this one’s an ugly nail biter.

Dr. Lou, Mark May, Cowherd have all picked Cal. That’s like holy trinity of cursing your team to fail.

Pac-10 ain’t getting no respect! (HT)

Whatever the reasons, when it comes to USC it doesn’t matter that Oregon State has proven to be pretty good over the last few years, or that Steve Sarkisian’s Huskies might be fairly talented — certainly, with a healthy Jake Locker, they’re much better than 0-12. College football watches the upset, snickers, and erases USC from the BCS race.

USC must win out and hope everyone else loses, and even that probably won’t be enough to get the Trojans into the BCS Championship Game.

But there’s a solution, for this year, and the future: The Pac-10 needs a different champion.

How about Cal?

In a weird way, that might be the best thing that could happen to Carroll and the Trojans. Cal, or anyone else, wins the league. Other things have to happen, too — the new champion must win the Rose Bowl, and the rest of the league must continue to show teeth in bowl games, and somehow the national perception needs to be less about USC slipping and more about the Pac-10’s strength. It would help if USC grabbed a BCS at-large berth.

Maybe then, people won’t presume the Pac-10 is the Pac-1, and USC’s annual league loss won’t be quite so devastating."

LINK

Thursday’s practice was going along like any normal Thursday practice would. The offense and defense had just come together on the Martin Stadium turf and the special team work had taken over. Then the atmosphere changed. James Montgomery hobbled out of the tunnel on crutches and took up residence near the northwest end zone. Slowly, players came over and patted him on the back or shook his hand, sharing a word or two with their injured teammate. Laughter was the prevalent sound, with Montgomery, his injured left leg in a bandage, sporting an ever-present smile. The smile didn’t leave even when strength coach Darin Lovat came over, though all even Lovat wanted to do was share a joke about getting back to work. … Montgomery’s visit enlivened a practice that which also featured another player on crutches, backup quarterback Kevin Lopina. Lopina also had his calf in a bandage, though it was the right. Whether he’ll be able to go Saturday is still up in the air. … Speaking of Montgomery, Tardy paid tribute to his friend by wearing Montgomery’s No. 21 practice jersey. There are no plans for the same to occur during the game. … Wulff talked about Montgomery on his press conference Thursday, calling him one of the most liked and respected guys on the team.

LINK

The pressure is on now.

As we prepare to kick off our conference schedule this week, we find ourselves amidst soaring expectations, expanded media coverage – from people who, by the way, are finally starting to figure out how good Jahvid Best really is – and the truth that wins only last until Saturday night, and rankings survive only a week.

The public scrutiny occurs most prominently upon our time in the spotlight, which largely means Saturday afternoons. The pressures of a college football season, however, extend well beyond scheduled broadcast hours.

To understand the challenge of a college football season, aside from the physical toll taken by the body and the immense time commitment, one must also consider the arduous academic schedule required of athletes.

At this point in the semester, required readings have piled up, papers perpetuate daily stresses (although my latest was a critical analysis on Taylor Swift’s "You Belong With Me," so who am I to complain?), and midterms loom dangerously before us.

To be blunt, a prospect cannot choose Cal just to play football. Athletes commit to Cal because of the opportunity to attend the world’s greatest public university while upholding the standing tradition of six straight bowl appearances.

A great gathering of links for Duck week!

I believe Cal won the vball mathc.

Rod Benson to Pacers?

LET’S GO BEARS!