Let the football season begin: Cal vs. Fresno State Pregame Open Thread

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At long last, it's finally here: the start of the 2011 football season. For the first time since 2003, Cal opens the season with a neutral site game. This one is a bit closer to home than the 2003 game in Kansas City against Kansas State. Today, Cal will play its first game ever in Candlestick Park in San Francisco against the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Going to the game? Looking for pregame activity? Check out the info on the unofficial CGB tailgate that Berkules is organizing.

First quarter thread / Second quarter thread / Third quarter thread /Fourth quarter thread

Game Info:

Live Coverage

TV: Comcast SportsNet California - Barry Tompkins (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Dan Dibley (Sideline Reporter)
Cal Commercial Radio: KGO 810 AM (San Francisco) - Joe Starkey (Play-By-Play), Troy Taylor (Analyst, Pregame Show), Todd McKim (Pregame Show, Sideline), Lee Grosscup (Postgame Show), Kate Scott (Postgame Show)
IMG College/Cal Radio Network Affiliates: *KFPT 790 AM (Fresno), KESP 970 AM (Modesto), KPRZ 1210 AM (San Diego), KMZT 1260 AM (Los Angeles), KTKZ 1380 AM (Sacramento), ^KFIG 1430 AM (Fresno).
All-Access Radio: The Cal commercial radio broadcast feed of the game can be heard on the Internet thorugh the All-Access channel on CalBears.com. All-Access can be found under the Multimedia tab at the top of the page.
Cal Student Radio: KALX 90.7 FM (Berkeley) - KALX 90.7 FM (Berkeley) - Danny Freisinger (Play-By-Play), Elliott Schwimmer (Analyst), Isaac Wolf (Analyst).
Sirius XM Satellite Radio: The Cal commercial radio broadcast feed of the game can be heard on satellite radio on Sirius Premier channel 211 and XM channel 193.

CalBears.com: Visit CalBears.com for complete coverage of Cal football, including a live play-by-play update via Gametracker.

Cal looks to improve upon its 7-2 record in season openers during the Jeff Tedford era. But this one will not be easy. Fresno State is 2-0 all time against Cal (albeit winning those games against Cal teams coached by Keith Gilbertson and Tom Holmoe) and relishes the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with a Pac-12 team. And if reports on ticket sales are an indication, Fresno State can expect the crowd at Candlestick Park to be pro-Bulldogs.

via i24.photobucket.com

Hopefully, Zach Maynard's day goes a lot better than Kyle Boller's evening in Fresno back in 2000

Want to know more about Fresno State? Learn about what we're dealing with in Fresno State's offense in ManBearCal's "Know Your Enemy" post here. And learn about Fresno State's defense here, courtesy of norcalnick.

As for Cal, we know who we'll be watching. We're anxious to see how Zach Maynard does in his Cal debut as starting quarterback. We're anxious to see if Isi Sofele can shoulder the burden of being the No. 1 running back. We're anxious to see if Coach Michalczik's return as offensive line coach will pay immediate dividends. We're anxious to see if year 2 of Coach Pendergast as defensive coordinator brings more consistency to what was statistically the Pac-10's leading defense last year. We're anxious to see all of the young talent on defense and whether they will shine immediately.

I could go on. But I'll let y'all go on the comments. The season is here. Hope springs eternal. Enjoy.