Cal's Rightful Place?

This one might be a week late, but this week also seems like a good time to talk about it.

You know, ever since 2003, when California last beat USC and put that silver bullet in the Trojans' BCS title hopes that year, the media--especially the national media--have loved the Bears chances against Southern California.

It seems like, every other year, when the Trojans look vulnerable, some in the national media pin Cal as the last great hope to knock USC off of its Pac-10 dynasty (well, it seems like it's always either the Bears or Oregon, which ever team is the glitzier pick that year).

The Bears/USC matchup has been on Saturday Night Football the last three years, with the game in 2006 as the national broadcast (and rightfully so). But Cal has only had a sniff at bringing immediate change to the conference, and that was in 2004, when Aaron Rodgers had the Bears at 1st and goal and he failed to complete a pass to give Cal the go-ahead score.

Ever since then, this pseudo-rivalry has clung to one game, 2003, when the Bears upset the Trojans. Sure, it was the game that put Jeff Tedford and California in the national spotlight. It helped that Cal went on to defeat Virginia Tech in a bowl game in 2003. But the gulf in class between the Bears and Trojans is as wide as the Pacific itself.

But why not Oregon State? Why not them? They never get put in the conversation. The Beavers have upset USC twice in the last three years. That equals the number of wins combined for Cal and Oregon ever since Jeff Tedford took over in Berkeley in 2002.

And if the Beavers win tomorrow and in win-out the rest of the year, they get to go to that Rose Bowl that Old Blues and Cal fans have been covetting since 1958.

It seems like the national media always puts its hat on Cal and gives that team a chance against USC. Maybe it's because Tedford does bring in talent, but not as much as USC does. Maybe because Tedford and is coaching staff is a quality one, but not as much as Pete Carroll's. Maybe it's because Tedford can get his team to beat teams that they're supposed to (most of the time).

But as the media, Cal and its fans cling to 2003, waiting for the year that 2003 will happen again, it never comes. The closest we all got was in 2004 for, when Rodgers was nine yards away.

The Cal section at the Coliseum last Saturday chanted "Yes We Can" everytime the Bears had the ball. But unlike the savvy, inspiring poltiical candidate that used that phrase to fuel a Presidential-winning campaign, the only time the Bears got in the end zone was when there was a flag on the field.

Cal fans can call upon the captivating rhetoric of the President-elect, have his pictures in the crowd and believe all it wants.

But believing that "Yes we can" doesn't guarntee wins. And believing that Cal can dethrone USC doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen.