Fall 2009 is a long way away for a Cal football fan, but it’s really hard for Golden Bears not to be anticipating the possibilities of next season. The Bears have made plenty of runs after the Rose Bowl fiasco of 2004, but there were always good reasons as to why Cal never were able to make the leap to the Rose Bowl.

• In 2005, we lost many of our offensive playmakers and our starting quarterback; USC kept both.
• In 2006, youth and a QB/RB ill-suited fora spread scheme eventually did in the Cal offense late in the season; a deeper and more experienced USC team had just enough to seal us off.
• In 2007, the lack of depth defensively eventually allowed teams to keep the ball away from the potent Cal offense.
• In 2008 the Bears retained none of their starters at the skill positions and struggled to move the ball without #4 breaking to daylight.

However, in 2009, the cards might finally be falling in our favor.  A look around the Pac-10 amplifies those hopes.

Washington State

Oh god. It doesn’t get more barren than this, does it?

Pros: Uh. Their home games are easier this year. So they have that going for them. Wulff’s recruits might finally start seeing PT at key positions, so the Cougs shouldn’t be as thin at every position as they were this season.

Cons: They go to Memorial next year. That takes care of this one.

Conclusion: If that game is even close next season, something has gone horribly wrong. Best not to think about it.

Washington

You can only go up from bottom right?

Pros: Jake Locker is back. That’s enough for two-three wins right there, as long as he stays healthy. And this was a young team, which explained many of the tough losses all season; you’d expect with a year under their belt the new coaching regime would get these players back into working order after the mess of the Willingham era.

Cons: This team won zero games last year. Bagel. Empty. Nada. Nothing There is a lot to work on, and there are no quick fixes.

This year LSU, USC, Cal and Oregon all come to town, plus a trip to South Bend. Their schedule is even more brutal than last season. To expect the Huskies to rise up and win more than five games is a little unrealistic.

Conclusion: They’re a little bit more of an uncertain commodity than Wazzu because their coaching staff should be way better, but I still have no clue. Nevertheless, the Bears still have yet to face Locker, and he is not to be underestimated (as BYU can attest).

Arizona

Mike Stoops is barely safe once again. Took all his effort and a senior quarterback and Texas Tech’s old offensive coordnator, but they finall put a winning season under their belt. Good for them. Let’s hope they revert to sucking.

Pros:

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