The last time the Bears sat at home come bowl season, the year was 2002, with coach Tedford in his first season at the helm. Still that 2002 season was far more successful than the 2010 endured by Bears fans, as Tedford’s inaugural squad at least compiled a winning 7-5 record, simply overlooked at bowl selection time, an injustice at the time according to many analysts. In fact, 2010 marks the first time in coach Tedford’s career at Cal in which the team has lost more than they’ve won, finishing at a disappointing 5-7, good for an abysmal 8th in the Pac-10. So where did it all go wrong?On November 6th, the Bears sat at 5-4, fresh off a win against Washington State, with three games left to play. Needing only one win to lock up an even record, thus qualify as bowl eligible, the task at hand was much larger than expected upon closer review. Consecutive contests with top 10 teams (1 Oregon and 5 Stanford), the Bears hardest two games on the schedule, quickly turned a promising 5-4 into an alarming 5-6, needing a win in the season finale against Washington to break even.When time expired in the 4th quarter of the Huskies vs. Bears contest, so did the Bears’ season expire quite literally. As Washington running back Chris Polk broke the goal line plane from just a yard out with no time remaining, the Huskies declared their own rite of bowl passage, moving to 7-6 on the season, winning their 3rd straight game. Washington continued its late season run, upsetting the heavily favored 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Holiday Bowl. Of course, this offers little solace to Bears fans, who will lose Junior running back Shane Vereen to the NFL draft, choosing to forego his final season, and quarterback Kevin Riley, a senior.The year 2010 is a stain on the collective Cal football conscience, with the outlook for 2011 not offering much inspiration in terms of returning talent. As we brace for a bleak stretch we haven’t seen in nearly a decade, here’s to hoping the Bears come back strong and surprise naysayers next year.
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
