Cal could crash Rose Bowl party

It hasn’t happened often in Berkeley, Calif., so allow the California Golden Bears to enjoy the moment.

Third-year coach Jeff Tedford’s rebuilding job has been borderline miraculous – from 1-10 to 8-6 in two years – and now, it’s anything but out of the realm of possibility that the Golden Bears could crash the Rose Bowl this season.

Certainly, the Bears are overdue. No Pacific-10 Conference team has waited longer than Cal to get to Pasadena in January. Not since 1959 – a 38-12 loss to Iowa – have the Bears sniffed roses.

A little perspective: Joe Kapp was Cal’s quarterback and the league was called the Pacific Coast Conference.

Yet, here Cal is, fresh off a 52-49 victory over Virginia Tech in the Insight Bowl, the only team to hand all-powerful USC a loss last season, ready to make a run.

Tedford, rightly, has received the majority of the credit, bringing in a new philosophy and energy in recruiting as well as giving the Bears a 180-degree turn in attitude.

“Mainly, we’ve tried to establish an environment where the kids could feel good about themselves and gain some self-esteem,” said Tedford, offensive coordinator at Oregon before coming to Berkeley. “I was leaving a program that went 11-2 and was coming off a Fiesta Bowl victory. It was evident to see the difference in body language between a team that was 11-2 versus a team that was 1-10. Leadership was key, but we needed to do it in a way that was continually positive on a day-to-day basis.”

So why not Cal? Certainly, the schedule is favorable. The Bears have Oregon and Arizona State at home and they don’t play Washington State.

And the offense is loaded. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is among the nation’s elite at his position and should get even better under Tedford, a well-known developer of quarterbacks. Wideout Geoff McArthur was second in the nation in receiving yards at 1,504 and Jonathan Makonnen, a superb receiver, is coming back from a stress fracture.

Bottom line: This team’s just plain good.

“I didn’t know if this would happen during my time here,” McArthur said. “It’s exciting, but we can’t get complacent.”

Of course, a major reason that Cal would get to the Rose Bowl is the likelihood that USC will play for the BCS Championship in the Orange Bowl. In two of the past four years, the Pac-10 sent a second team to a BCS bowl as an at-large team. If Cal is that team, a Rose Bowl is viable.

It may have to rely on that route, because the Trojans are simply loaded.

Quarterback Matt Leinart is a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. And although the Trojans lose wideouts Mike Williams and Keary Colbert, they replace them with what’s been estimated as the best recruiting classes the last three years.

Not only that, but the Trojans are so deep at tailback that any one of three could start for most teams in the country.

Certainly, USC is the heavy favorite to repeat as Pac-10 champion. But whether the Trojans can get into and win the BCS title game that eluded them last season isn’t an issue coach Pete Carroll wants to deal with.

“That talk is beyond our control,” Carroll said. “Our goal always will be to win the Pac-10 Championship and the Rose Bowl.

“But because of our accomplishments the last two seasons, we know we’ll be challenged to the max each game now. We understand that we’ll always see our opponent at their best. So we must take our game to the next level and be ready for everyone’s best shot.”

The Trojans return five starters on offense and five on defense, plus both kickers. Most important is Leinart, only the second sophomore (John Elway was the other) named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year.

But Leinart hardly is the only star. In fact, many make the case that USC has the best quarterback, running backs, tight ends, defensive line and linebackers in the conference.

“We understand how to handle personnel losses and move on,” Carroll said. “Our team is well prepared because it presents a great opportunity for others to step up to the front. It’ll be fun to see who steps up.”

After USC and Cal, the Pac-10 appears balanced.

Oregon’s schedule is favorable because it doesn’t have to play USC. Oregon State may have the best defense in the conference. Arizona State is itching to redeem itself after underachieving last season. UCLA, Washington State, Washington, Stanford and Arizona are rebuilding.