"I look forward to seeing how this one ends."  -  Image via farm2.static.flickr.com, thanks to super awesome epic Grecian hero man, Jason Snell of Excuse Me For My Voice.

TwistNHook:  Am I the only person excited to see what the new 3-4 Defense can do this season?

HydroTech:  I think you're the only person. 

TwistNHook:  Unique as always.

HydroTech:  You're not unique.  You're a weirdo.

TwistNHook:  If your mission when you woke up this morning was to make me cry, then congratulations.  Mission accomplished.

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This is the first in a series of 12 roundtable-style previews for the upcoming season.

  vs. 

Game #1 : August 30 vs. Michigan State, 5:00 PM (televised on ABC).

ragnarok:  For the second straight year, Cal will host the season-opening edition of ABC's Saturday Night Football.  Last year's two-touchdown victory over Tennessee brought the Bears tons of media acclaim and vaulted them squarely into national title contention.  Though expectations for Cal (and their opponent) are decidedly less ambitious this year, it's still a prime-time opportunity to demonstrate to the nation that last year's collapse was just a hiccup in Cal's rise to national prominence -- if the Bears can win.

So, what are the Bear's chances of starting 2008 the same way they started 2007?  Well, here's a couple of encouraging trends:  Tedford's Bears are a perfect 6-0 in home openers, and they're a perfect 4-0 vs. Big 10 teams.  Sure, OK, one could quibble with the meaningfulness of such statistics, so here's a trend that might bear a little more weight (via Black Shoe Diaries):  since 1980, the Big 10's road winning percentage when playing a regular season game vs. the Pac-10 is a mere 22% -- 11 wins vs. 39 losses.  Even more startling is when you look at just matchups involving teams that finished the season with a winning record (as we all expect Cal to do), the Big 10's winning percentage drops to just 15% -- that's just 3 wins (against 17 losses) in the last 28 years.  There's lies, damn lies, and statistics, but that right there is a trend, and there's gotta be something substantial behind it.

Please, before I get to cocky, someone build up Michigan State.  Why might the Spartans buck these trends?

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