Reversal of fortune
Despite Cal's loss, the Rose Bowl's still in sight
- Ray Ratto

First of all, take that sharpened spoon away from your neck. Cal wasn't going to the national championship game anyway, and don't give me no buts about "Yeah, but Louisville lost, and Auburn lost, and..." It wasn't happening, so just stop, OK?

Second, beating USC this coming Saturday still puts the Golden Bears into the Rose Bowl, unless of course the resuscitated Stanfords have a jaw-slackening Big Game surprise for us all.

Third, you'd still take 10-2, right? I mean, you haven't become complete and utter football snobs, have you?

OK, now that you've done your breathing exercises and centered yourselves ... they lost to Arizona? Arizona! All that crank-laced buildup for this?

Well, yes. Of course, you fatalists out there will ask, "But isn't that the Cal Football Experience in a nutshell?" And you would be right. Cal is a fabulous tease that is hard-wired to energize the base, as MSNBC's Chris Matthews likes to say when he's off his medication, and then duck-hooks everyone's hopes into the trees on 17.

But as groin-shots go, this is actually milder than usual. There wasn't a lot of risk, except to team momentum, and the reward of the title game in Glendale, Ariz., was still going to require losses by Florida and Notre Dame, and a lopsided Ohio State-Michigan game. And that's at the bare minimum.

What you all really want anyway, New Year's Day in Pasadena, is still there to be had. As the cliche pimps like to say, the Bears' real fate is still in their hands.

OK, that's the last bit of feel-good you get here. In fact, we're not even going to let you grouse about the pass interference call on Daymeion Hughes that set up the winning score for the Wildcats, or even to wish that DeSean Jackson's foot was three sizes smaller. Oklahoma got hosed way worse than you did when it played Oregon, and if Jackson's foot actually was smaller, he'd probably tip over a lot.

Because we know you have to let out a little postloss angst, here's the truth you get to gnaw on this morning before you drop the subject and gear up for Saturday.

Cal is guilty of letting Arizona hang around. Cal is guilty of letting Arizona's often problematic offense take control of the game down the stretch. Cal is guilty of not using its offense to put the 'Cats down early, the way teams with real national aspirations do. This is quite possibly the biggest upset of the year among the Top 10, and there's no way to dress it up as one of those on-any-given-Saturday things.

You want any-given-Saturday? That one is Stanford's possession, pure and simple. Staring eternal ignominy in the mush, the Cardinal finally slapped back in Seattle, and to be frank, sensible folks feel far better about the Stanford players finally enjoying a weekend than feel bad about you losing your life-long dream of a week in Glendale, Ariz.

Anyway, back to the point. Cal isn't an SEC school with an SEC school's fan base, and can't really get terribly comfortable acting like one after a devastating loss. There can be no cries of "We Want Ayoob!" as there were after the loss at Tennessee (yes, you know who you are), or blaming a lack of focus (we'll need to see the films before we commit to that old chestnut), or putting Jeff Tedford on notice (for who, the ghost of Bruce Snyder?).

This one stung Cal fans as it stung the players and coaches, but the players and coaches have each other. You have that half-empty bottle of Glenliver and the crippling headache of last night's postgame bender, Joe Starkey still ringing in your ears, and Tim Brandt and Dan Fouts making those capillaries in your eye scream for relief. Have a nice Sunday, if you can.

Now, get over it. Sure you wanted to see how long the fabulous ride would last, and how close you could get to the epicenter of the college football hurricane, but now you're back on task, worrying about the one thing you've always worried about -- whether or not you'll get to the coroner's office before your team gets to the Rose Bowl.

That, you still have. Yeah, Saturday was a king-hell drag for all of you, but this coming Saturday is the one you've been fixated on, and you'll go into that game the way you've always viewed the Bears, as underdogs on the big stage. You're not better off with this defeat, but you haven't been consigned to the disheartening handshake of welcome from the executive director of the Holiday Bowl.

At least not yet.

 

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