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Rebuilding pays off for Cal football team


Hoping to keep its Rose Bowl dreams intact Saturday on the eve of Halloween, California won't be disguised as the nation's seventh-ranked team against No. 20 ASU.

The Golden Bears really are that good.

Three years ago, Cal was the laughingstock of the Pac-10, similar to modern-day bottom-dwellers UA and Washington. It finished 1-10, going winless in conference play. Attendance was dismal, and the archaic Memorial Stadium was falling apart.

Today, Memorial Stadium is still the junk pile of the Pac-10, but Cal is on its way toward becoming the class act of the conference, not far behind revered USC.

"It was not easy in the beginning," Cal head coach Jeff Tedford said of a three-year rebuilding process that he started after the 2001 season. "We worked hard on trying to find the right kids, and we let them know that we were going to create an environment where they could be successful and reach their potential."

Before Tedford arrived, the Golden Bears (5-1, 3-1) hadn't posted more than seven wins in a season since 1993. They matched that in Tedford's first year with a 7-5 finish, and they surpassed that the following year with an 8-6 season that culminated in a dramatic Insight Bowl victory.

Football season ticket sales have risen by 116 percent since Tedford was hired, and corporate sponsorship sales have increased by 62 percent, generating an additional $1.6 million for the athletic department.

Ranked eighth in this week's Bowl Championship Series standings, Cal is in prime position to secure its first Rose Bowl berth in 46 years. It can get there with five more wins, as long as No. 1 USC doesn't stumble.

Tedford maintains that his team is not looking ahead, even though rival Stanford and No. 25 Southern Mississippi linger in the coming weeks.

"We continue to take just one week at a time, all the time," said Tedford, whose team has won 10 of its last 12 games, dating to last season. "We don't ever look forward. I think we're mature enough and experienced enough to know that it's one week at a time.

"Each week is just magnified. Every game is critical, but as you go through, the games in October and November are the ones that usually stick in your mind. These are the ones that we really have to be ready for down the stretch."

Much of Cal's turnaround can be attributed not only to efficiency on both sides of the ball, but also to quality leadership from playmakers such as junior quarterback Aaron Rodgers, senior wide receiver Geoff McArthur and senior tailback J.J. Arrington.

"We've had some guys that have surfaced as leaders, and they're mature," Tedford said. "They've been in the program, and they have an investment in the program; and they understand what it takes. While I have a concern about whether we'll be ready or not, the players continue to focus and prepare well."

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.


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