Athlon put together a series of predictions spanning the entire 2012 bowl season. The Pac-12 fields an impressive eight bowlers, led by USC who will compete for all the Tostitos. Our sturdy Golden Bears are predicted to spend New Year's Eve in El Paso, where we face the Wolfpack of NC State.
| Team | Bowl | Opponent |
| 1. USC | National Championship Game |
LSU |
| 2. Oregon | Rose Bowl | Michigan |
| 3. Stanford | Alamar Bowl | Oklahoma State |
| 4.Washington | Holiday Bowl | Kansas State |
| 5. Cal | Sun Bowl | NC State |
| 6. UCLA | Las Vegas |
Boise State |
| 7. Utah | Fight Hunger Bowl | Navy |
| 8. Arizona | New Mexico Bowl | Colorado State |
This would be a pretty exciting slate of bowl games...with one exception: the "no one cares bowl" featuring Arizona and Colorado State in the least interesting venue of the bowl season. How about that USC-LSU game--could you root for the Trojans if it means they silence the big, bad SEC blowhards?
Calympics
- MSNBC's TODAY talks with Natalie Coughlin (video).
- Cal track coach Tony Sandoval reports that Alysia Montano is ready to go for the Olympics. She will run one more race before the Olympics begin next week.
Football
- Cal continues to earn solid reviews in Ted Miller's preseason position ratings. The Bears are in great shape at defensive back and defensive end.
- Pacific Takes is ranking the Pac-12 games from most to least compelling. 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, and 60-51. It's a shame that #90 is the Pac-12 Network's first live football game.
- The Pac-12 Network releases a schedule for its first couple weeks.
- Keenan Allen is on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. The annual award is given to the nation's best receiver.
- Isi Sofele is on the 52-man watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back.
- Marshawn Lynch was officially charged with DUI after getting pulled over while driving a Ford Econoline van (?!).
- After another run-in with the law, Marshawn Lynch and Jason Kidd will find it even tougher to replace their images.
Rugby
- Led by Cal, BYU, and Air Force, several of the programs have formed the Varsity Cup Championship: a 15s national championship event. The event will begin in April 2013 with a tournament spanning three weekends.