Waking from Hibernation

Incredible. The Cal football team has been ranked fifteenth best in the country in the most recent ESPN/USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll released on Friday (link here). T and I have been fortunate to catch quite a few home games since Jeff Tedford took the head coaching reins two seasons ago, including the memorable drubbing of Stanford in the '02 Big Game (link here). One thing is for sure. From the buzz felt in the seats of Memorial Stadium during the home games we have attended, he has palpably reinvigorated the Cal alumni base and endeared himself to hardcore Bear Backers. The two consecutive Big Game wins definitely helped, as did last year's bowl win over Virginia Tech. The away game scheduled for October 9th against USC (ranked the top team in the country by every preseason poll out there) should be intense. Cal will want to prove it truly belongs in the top twenty. And USC will want revenge for their triple overtime loss in Berkeley last season (their only loss in fact and the primary reason they were denied consensus national championship honors last year). Should be an interesting game to watch. Without a doubt, it's a great time to be a Cal football fan.