BERKELEY, Calif. — Since my sense of directions is almost lethally deficient, I’m accustomed to asking strangers for help.
My pleas for help invariably evoke effort, if not expertise. Even someone as directionally challenged as myself feels compelled to give it a shot, rather than admit, “Sorry, I can’t help you.”
That’s why I was so impressed with the blank look I got from a drugstore employee Sunday afternoon.
“Where’s the stadium?” I asked in reference to the site of Tennessee’s season opener against Cal on Saturday evening.
He was about to tell me where the Oakland Raiders play when I specified, “Cal’s stadium.”
That’s when I got the blank look and a quick, unapologetic: “I don’t know.”
As he answered, he was in Emeryville, close to Oakland and Berkeley, about 10 minutes from Cal’s Memorial Stadium. He might as well have been in Los Angeles.
His answer was a small reminder of the battle for recognition fought by every college program in a pro market. The Raiders and A’s are just down the road. The Giants and 49ers are across the bay.
That’s not meant to denigrate Cal’s status. Instead, it’s more of a tribute to what Jeff Tedford has accomplished in his five seasons as head coach. The Golden Bears have played in four bowls, and finished in the top 25 the last three years. That’s heady stuff for a program that won only four games in the three years prior to Tedford’s arrival.
The Golden Bears also have succeeded in carving out a niche for themselves in a crowded sports marketplace, averaging 64,318 fans per home game last season, an increase of 27,000 per game over 2002.
In a pro-dominated landscape, you get a niche. In SEC hotbeds like Knoxville, Gainesville and Tuscaloosa you get total saturation. Imagine asking someone who worked 10 minutes from the UT campus for directions to Neyland Stadium. At the worst, you would get a close guess.
But for two programs that might seem worlds apart, UT and Cal will enter Saturday’s game on relatively common ground. Cal is ranked 12th nationally; UT, 15th. Aside from UT’s 5-6 season in 2005, their programs haven’t been that much different the last five years, either. Both are averaging about eight wins per season, going to non-BCS bowls and finishing in the second half of the top 25.
For UT, that’s a drop-off. For Cal, it’s spectacular progress.
In fact, Cal’s ascent has been so sudden under Tedford, national expectations have risen sharply as well. Now, Cal’s challenge is matching those expectations. And that’s why the UT game is so important.
Cal has changed its image once, from loser to winner. If it wants another image makeover, it needs to win this kind of game.
It had the same opportunity last year and failed miserably, trailing UT 35-0 after three quarters before tacking on 18 points in what still amounted to a crushing defeat.
Cal had another opportunity after a 10-1 regular season in 2004. Spurned by the BCS bowls, the Golden Bears were relegated to the Holiday Bowl against Texas Tech. Instead of responding with a “we’ll-show-you” performance, Cal played dreadfully in losing to the Red Raiders 45-31.
The Golden Bears also have had their chances against Southern Cal, college football’s marquee program. But they have only come close, losing three consecutive games from 2002 through 2004 by a total of 11 points.
Losing close games has become a trend. In the last four years, Cal is 4-8 in games decided by seven points or fewer. One such loss came last year against Arizona after the Golden Bears had put the UT defeat behind them with eight consecutive victories by an average of almost 20 points per game.
On its best days, Cal has been dazzling under Tedford. But on lesser days, its response to adversity has been less than admirable. That’s why you have to wonder if it’s good enough — or tough enough — to beat a nationally ranked SEC team.
The oddsmakers, who have made Cal a five-point favorite, say it is. Cal’s track record says otherwise.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com
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Comments » 25
misterorange writes:
When you say "pro market" does that include the Trojans?
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Now That was an article you could sink your teeth into......or was it? Thanks again, John Adams, Sports Editor, for another insightful Tennessee Football article.
What was this?
AndyHahn writes:
This article has so many mistakes it is ridiculous. Good fictional reading though, esspecially the part that leads us to believe Cal has no shot to win this game.
Incorrect Stats:
1.First off Cal beat USC in 2003, which makes the statement that Cal lost three times to USC from 2002 to 2004 false.
2.In the previous seasons before Tedford came to Cal in 2002, Cal had the following records:
1999:4-7
2000:3-8
2001:1-10
Which actually adds up to 8 wins in the three seasons prior to the Tedford era, not "only four games in the three years prior to Tedford's arrival."
3.In the past 4 years, Cal is 7-9 in games decided by 7 points or less, not 4-8.
Is this some kind of middle school newspaper sports section? I sure hope so.
ps. Go Bears!
CrankE writes:
How well has Cal done when they spot teams a 35 point lead? Adams admits his lack of direction in the opening paragraph, so don't expect too much. Especially at 12:34 am. I guess it's it's time for kaplan to come along and correct the column without changing the time/date ("What errors"?).
cmcfalls writes:
Sure, it was posted at 12:34am, but I assume that is Eastern time. He has no excuse since he is in Cal, making it 9:34pm.
jonathan012 writes:
Now see... this is why we should go back to being a paid website. We got this Cal fan on here saying "Go Bears!" We don't wanna hear that. Go back to your own website and stay off of ours!
GO VOLS!!!
GreerVol22 writes:
be careful jonathan012, they cant play football very well, but their governor can whip our governors butt. Plus they gave us Reagan, so there not all bad. Watch your back Andy, folks in East Tennessee know a thing or two about bear huntin'. GO VOLS!!!
txsvol#372416 writes:
Whether you are a pay site veteran, or a newbie from the Cal Bears like AndyHahn, we all recognize that Adams edits and writes like he's in a 'middle school newspaper sports section." What the Cal guy might not know that the rest of us do is that Adams is an LSU supporter in Big Orange country. LSU is notorious for its lax academic standards, but it does say something about the judgment of the KNS staff to have Adams around to write fluff stories about our opponents. BTW, Andy, I watched "Peaceful Warrior" last week, in order to see some of your campus. It looks like a beautiful place to visit. Hope that your season gets off to an 0-1 start. Go Vols! SAVol
thevol writes:
Whatever the stat(7-9 0r 4-8) in close games, I like the fact that Cal chokes in the close games and big games. I feel like this game will be much closer than last year and our senior quarterback and conditioning will make the difference in the 4th quarter. Go Big Orange!
SFOrange writes:
Andy--nice job of fact checking, but the general perspective is right, right? Cal is up and coming (until Tedford leaves) and you're (UC fans) actually excited about playing this game. Its all good. The Bears got blitzed in Knoxville last year and have a chance to redeem. All the guy is asking is will they. See you in Memorial. Go Orange.
BuckFama writes:
Could it be that Adams was referring to Cal's conference marks in the case of 7-point-or-less losses from '03 to '06, and wins in '99, '00, and '01? Just asking. Regardless, pretty sloppy research by Mr. Adams or his assistant, if he has one.
But keep in mind, Andy, that this paper is not affiliated with U.T., and in fact has a quasi antagonistic relationship with the football program and its coach. If Mr. Adams misstated the aforementioned records of your Golden Bears, it wasn't in any way meant to shed a more favorable light on the Volunteers. Believe me.
And we Tennesse fans ask many of the same questions about this sports section.
Bigger_Al writes:
AndyHahn - Thanks for calling Adams (an LSU grad) out on this. We usually have to do that when he slings mud at us, but we don't have the prerequisite knowledge of the Bears to do so in this case. He probably toured Alcatraz instead of doing his research, figuring we wouldn't know the difference.
See you Saturday night! I'll be the one wearing the orange shirt...
yroc writes:
Sounds like misread notes to me. Too bad for Cal the actuality isn't much better.
-After going 1-2 and a total of 11 points deciding the games against USC in 2002-2004, Cal's lost the last 3.
-As for games decided by 7 or fewer points in the last 4 years, I count 5-10, plus 2 close bowl wins, for a total of 7-10 (3-5,1-1,2-3,1-1 by year).
-From 1999-2001, Cal won no more than 4 games a year. Interestingly, in 2001, Cal only won 1 game, while UT was 1 game away from playing for its second national championship in 3 years.
mtnvol writes:
The next time Jack A$$ looks down his nose at our beloved coach, I expect $1M check to go with it. Kudos to Phil and Vicki for supporting our institution!
Ralph_Crampton writes:
A win on the road against Cal would be a boost for the vols..for many years West coast writers have looked down their (collective) noses at teams from the SEC. This attitude has kept many SEC teams from winning National championships in my opinion..For some reason west coast writers simply will not cast favorable votes for Southern teams. A playoff, not votes would remedy this situation.
misterorange writes:
Playoff? We can't have a playoff. If we had a playoff, then we would miss out on the stupid Rose Bowl that today's football fans care less and less about. I wish the people that are preventing a playoff from happening would cut the phooey. How something that a majority of fans want can be kept from becoming reality, I'll never know. 16 teams. Every conference champ plus how many wild card slots are left over. No conference championship games. Keep the lousy bowl games for non-playoff participants. Incorporate the best bowls into the second round on. Every game still is live or die during the regular season, as two conference losses likely kills you.
oasis3#214380 writes:
Another air ball from John Adams. The idiocy continues.
budd#207344 writes:
yes misterorange and you could also say goodbye to great intersectional games like UT-Cal. Lets spend our money on games like they do in the pros where half the players mail it in cause they only need to make thge wild card to go to the playoffs. By the way where do you cut off the playoff. 8 teams? 16? But what about Poopville they went 9 and 2 and just missed the cutoff oh boy did they get screwed
avidvol writes:
The top 16 teams could play picked by BCS or similar power ratings. The existing bowls could be used in the play-offs with dollar bids determining what round teams you got. It would be rare that a 17th ranked team could be considered a play-off contender. The smaller bowls would do great--just think the Holiday bowl could be a USC-Boise 1st rounder or the Peach Bowl could host a UF-Va Tech initial game. The left over small bowls could be a kind of NIT for D1 or be used for the small college play-offs. If 20 teams would be needed give the top 4 teams a bye. Cut the season to 11 games finishing about Dec 7th take a week off and be finished by Jan 15th. 8 teams play 12 games, 4 teams play 13, 2 play 14 and 2 play 15. The fan interest and TV revenue would be mind boggling. Now quite a number of teams would be playing `13 or 14 games--anyone like this method?
BuckFama writes:
Let's be realistic ... if the 17th-rated team is not worthy of a bowl, why would the 16th-rated team warrant a playoff berth? What makes one qualified and the other unqualified?
If the cognoscenti bring about a playoff, that playoff should include 4 teams at most.
All that being said, the college football season, as it stands now, IS, in effect, a playoff. It's easily the most exciting regular season in sports because one loss puts a team in great peril of not being in a position to play for a national championship. Every week is a clencher. The big-conference champs are the teams that play each other in the BCS bowls.
Look at the NBA and NHL. Who really cares about those regular season games? Too many teams make the playoffs. Why? Money. Even most of the NCAA basketball regular season doesn't mean a great deal. Too many teams make the NCAA tournament. They've even had to incorporate the stupid "play-in game". Why? Money.
Is this what we want in college football?
Colliervol writes:
I love it. A visiting fan sizes up Adams and the KNS sports section the first time he reads it. "Middle school newspaper". I don't think anything else needs to be said. AndyHahn, welcome to our world.
John, you and your headline writers should have considered an addition. Somehow, it might just be possible that a win would provide UT some direction is well. I don't think Cal is the only team with their "direction" at stake.
AndyHahn writes:
I'm glad to hear that John Adams is not a reflection of your typical Tennessee fan. I think this is a huge game for both teams to "find direction." and that's one of the reasons I can't wait until Saturday.
Just a heads up for anyone who is heading to the Bay Area for the game: the Bay Bridge will be closed for the whole weekend due to construction. Which means anyone flying into San Francisco will have to use a different route to the game so be sure to allow enough time to make it to the game for this. As much as I hate to see more orange in Memorial Stadium, it would really suck to fly out here and not make it to the game.
To bad this is the last game of the series.
Is it Saturday yet?
Go Bears!
BuckFama writes:
The problem IS finding 16 worthy teams. 4 would be plenty. IMHO!
Take care, Big Orange Country. And GO VOLS!
AllVol writes:
This is the second Cal fan who has presented himself as cultured, polite, and knowledgeable. Hope we kill Cal, but it's hard not to like these guys. Kind of makes me wonder about us . . .
BlakeyWakey writes:
One thing I am sick of is people bashing on tennessee saying we got lucky against Cal last year I dont think 35 points is lucky.... I hope we blow Cal out so people can say we got lucky again! GO V-O-L-S
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