Don’t Call It a Rivalry Just Yet

Pardon to all the Old Blues out there, but Saturday is The Big Game.

Listening to the players talk throughout the week in anticipation, it’s apparent that USC is public enemy No. 1, and Stanford is just yet another middling Pac-10 team with a chance to derail some of Cal’s bowl-game aspirations.

Listen to starting cornerback Chris Conte, who has barely been at Berkeley long enough to know where the Campanile is.

“Oh man, I hate USC,” he said.

But as of now, the Bears still are not holding up their end of the bargain with the mighty Trojans.

Consider this: while Cal and USC have squared off in some compelling matchups, the last time the Bears came out victorious was in 2003—back when Aaron Rodgers and Reggie Robertson were still splitting time at quarterback.

Yankees-Red Sox is a rivalry. Tupac and Biggie is a rivalry. Good luck convincing the Trojans that they have a fierce rivalry with Cal. That’s like telling George Foreman that Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Grill is a grave threat.

Unfortunately for Cal, it’s a precipitous underdog yet again this season. It seems like no matter what happens to the Trojans, the Bears remain a step behind, clinging to the role of the flustered little brother.

In 2004, Cal could have very well gone to the national title game with a win over USC, but instead failed to even receive a BCS invite. In 2006, in a “down year” for the Trojans, the Bears’ back-to-back losses to Arizona and USC precluded them from a Rose Bowl bid.

This year is more of the same.

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh referred to the Trojans before the season as possibly the greatest college football team of all time, and when taking one look at their depth chart it isn’t hard to see why.

Their defense boasts one of the top defensive lines and probably the top three linebackers in the country. You can’t even count their five-star running backs on one hand. Their receivers are tailor-made for the NFL.

Somehow, that talent on paper translates to a loss to Stanford at home and at Oregon last week, but somehow, the Bears also lost three straight to negate any USC slip-ups.

At least there’s an immediate chance at vindication.

DeSean Jackson said before the season that he’d rather beat the Trojans than win a Heisman. While he may have imagined that knocking off USC would entail a run to a Pac-10 title, his chance is still there.

The Trojans are the one team in the country whose mention injects immediate life into a season. Last week’s excitement against Washington State was understandably mild, but no one doubts Memorial Stadium will try to somehow live up to its billing as one of the 10 scariest places in the country to play (according to ESPN’s clueless Bruce Feldman) on Saturday.

With a win over USC, Cal’s season highlights would include a romp against an SEC power (Tennessee), a win over an undisputed national championship contender (Oregon) and a victory over the most talented team in the nation (the Trojans).

Not bad for a three-loss team teetering on the edge of a national ranking.

But my advice, to all of you Bears fans, is don’t get your hopes up.

USC is still playing for a BCS berth and just demolished Oregon State last week. While the Bears did squeak out a win over Washington State, they almost blew the game late for a fourth-straight loss.

Saturday is The Big Game, but like most Old Blues can tell you, The Big Game often ends in disappointment.

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