Kevin Riley News

After about an hour, and somewhere between the eight impressive wins and the four gruesome losses, he will turn to his coordinators and say, "Well, fellas, I have no idea what we're dealing with here.

Given the way the regular season ended for his team, California coach Jeff Tedford gladly accepted an invitation to the Poinsettia Bowl on Sunday.

SEATTLE Lack of fight, no longer. Lack of bite, that's changing. In the near future, these Dawgs of the Montlake might be ready to hunt again in the turned-inside-out Pacific-10 Conference.

The Bears righted their ship at midseason and earned another bowl appearance, but it will be hard to forget the way they absorbed those four losses.

For the past three years, contests between the Cal Golden Bears and Washington Huskies have amounted to running back showcases.A In 2006 , Cal pulled out a wild, come-from-behind 31-24 victory on the back of Marshawn Lyncha 'who recorded 150 yards on the ground, as well as go-ahead scores in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Nothing has happened yet to let the Cal football team forget completely about its last visit to Husky Stadium in 2007-not winning the Armed Forces Bowl later that season, not beating Washington soundly last year, not even the two years and change that have passed since the game was played.

Even though Cal still can finish in a tie for second place in the Pac-10 standings, the Bears will not be going to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, a source close to the Holiday Bowl said.

California's pursuit of a Pac-10 championship ended weeks ago, but it still wants to finish the regular season strong and avoid being Washington's latest upset victim.

Almost immediately upon emerging from the Cal football team's euphoric locker room following the Bears' 34-28 win over Stanford, coach Jeff Tedford was asked to explain his decision to center the ball on third down from inside the Cardinal's 10-yard line on Cal's final drive.

You leave one job for another - and take a $350,000 pay cut - people are going to surmise that you were pretty miserable at the first place.

Comment: Given the location and opponent, this was Cal's best all-around performance since the 2007 victory at Oregon "... The gameplans were smart; Cal out-coached Stanford on both sides of the ball.

TO GRASP TODAY'S Big Game mojo between Cal and host Stanford, it's time for our third annual interview with The Stanford Axe, also known as "Q & Axe." Q: We meet again, dear friend.

Shane Vereen ran for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries and Mike Mohamed intercepted a pass from Andrew Luck at the 3 with less than 2 minutes left as California spoiled No.

Shane Vereen was supposed to be Cal's every-down back after star Jahvid Best's scary injury two weeks ago.

The USC game wasn't the first time Jim Harbaugh went for a two-point conversion with a big lead.

Something tumultuous can happen this weekend in northern California. No, it has nothing to do with UC Berkeley's protests against the Regents' 32 percent tuition fee hike; nor does it have anything to do with the fact that Cal's Memorial Stadium is located on a fault line.

ARIZONA: The Wildcats allowed nine points late in the fourth quarter against California and that led to a 24-16 loss to the Golden Bears.

The California Golden Bears didn't have this game circled on their calendar when they began the season.

Twenty-nine carries into the heaviest lifting he's ever known as a collegian, Shane Vereen was as pristine as a blade of rubberized turf.

Shane Vereen rumbled 61 yards for a touchdown and finished with 159 yards on the ground in place of an injured Jahvid Best, as California upended 18th-ranked Arizona, 24-16, at Memorial Stadium.Giorgio Tavecchio kicked four field goals, including the go-ahead 22-yarder with under five minutes left.