Rose Bowl still elusive for Cal Bears | Pac-10 football

Funny thing about some of the offensive gurus of the Pac-10. They're scratching their heads over their offense.

At UCLA, Rick Neuheisel has installed Nevada's "Pistol" offense as a way to move the chains. At Arizona State, Dennis Erickson has a new coordinator and a retooled approach.

Then there's Jeff Tedford at California. Heretofore known as a molder of quarterbacks, he has experienced a run of pedestrian play behind center that has only added to the enigma around Cal.

So here we have the Bears: They come off an 8-5 season. Not so bad, you say. But the losses were all in double digits, including a composite score of 114-16 against Oregon, USC and Washington.

"We definitely had some big losses," says receiver Jeremy Ross. "We all remember them. But we're just trying to forget what's behind and keep pressing on towards the goal."

Oh yes, the goal. For the Bears, longest away from the Rose Bowl (1959) in the Pac-10 among the charter members, that's Pasadena. But recent seasons haven't done much to reinforce that Cal will get there anytime soon — the sentiment of those covering the Pac-10.

League media forecast the Bears seventh, after picking them second five of the previous six years. It's the dimmest view of Cal since the first two of Tedford's nine seasons in Berkeley.

"We have a burning desire to get to the Rose Bowl," Tedford insists. "Our players do, our coaches do, our fans do."

Tedford is 67-35 at Cal. If you assess consistency, longevity and accomplishment, that might rank better than any Bears coach since Pete Elliott, who ramrodded that last Rose Bowl, and immediately before him, legendary Pappy Waldorf.

As Tedford says pointedly, "We're the second-winningest program in the Pac-10 the last eight years."

Still, there's a hollow element to that, since Tedford delivered so much so early — 9-7 in the league his first two years — and has lately been so average (14-13 the last three).

A lot of it seems to revolve around quarterback play. Kevin Riley is the senior incumbent, but even Tedford spoke to the inconsistency when he said late in July, "If he ends up winning the job ... .' " Yet, Tedford named Riley the starter when camp began.

Riley is the Pac-10's active leader in touchdown passes with 37. But his completion percentage a year ago was a modest 54.2.

No doubt it hasn't helped Riley, a Portland-area product, that Cal has had a parade of offensive coordinators. This year, he has the benefit of a second season under Andy Ludwig, ex-Oregon and Utah coordinator.

Riley has been slow to get rid of the ball, which exacerbated Cal's vulnerability to the rush last year. The Bears gave up 31 sacks.

"That's the most we've been sacked in a long, long time," says Tedford. "We definitely have to bring that down."

"We'll be a lot more successful if the ball is thrown quicker," concedes Ross. "But part of it is receivers getting open quicker. It works two ways."

Riley has alongside him leading '09 receiver Marvin Jones, plus tight end Anthony Miller and 952-yard rusher Shane Vereen.

On defense, Cal was No. 9 in the Pac-10 against the pass last year, allowing 63.7-percent completions, and Tedford seeks to rectify that. He replaced departed coordinator Bob Gregory with former Arizona Cardinals assistant Clancy Pendergast, who has emphasized an attacking system.

"That's going to be our thing this year, to get after people," says standout linebacker Mike Mohamed. "We're going to try to dictate the pace of the game."

Perhaps on the cusp of emerging on that unit is end Cameron Jordan, who had six sacks last year.

Under Tedford, the Bears have usually been a tough read for prognosticators. Given the diminished expectations outside, that's a tradition they'd like to sustain.