Continued from the October thread!

Kenny Stills is looking at Cal and UCLA locally, and plenty of your finest football institutions outside.

"I have Oklahoma (Nov. 14), Michigan (Nov. 21) and Florida (Nov. 28). I'm trying to decide between Oregon and Miami for my last visit. Oregon looks great right now and I've always liked Miami a lot. They haven't offered me yet, but sound interested and I can't see them tripping me out there unless they wanted to offer.

"Locally, I'm still looking at Cal and UCLA. If I stay close to home, I'm leaning to Cal right now but Florida and Oklahoma are both really intriguing to me. Florida loses all their playmakers after this season and Oklahoma has a great offense for a receiver."

More on potential recruits, thanks to solarise.

Owa Odighizuwa, DE
Portland, OR

Find out more about Owa’s leadership qualities:

“He doesn’t walk around with a big ego, or anything.” – Jeremy Patrick (Owa’s teammate), regarding all the attention Owa is receiving.

“He’s such a leader and so well rounded that he connects with kids that aren’t necessarily athletes.” – Dan Wood (Owa’s coach)

“If you’re not diverse with the people you know and just stick with one type of person, then you never know what opportunities and experiences you might miss out on.” – Owa himself

What he (Owa) is concerned with is the best fit personally and academically.

He wants to major in business or sports management and maybe work in the sports apparel business.

“I’m approaching it like an interview process,” he said. “You can’t rush to a decision because of a good weekend.”

Cecil Whiteside, LB
Newport Beach, CA

A tragic story about Cecil’s past:

When Whiteside was 5, his father, Martin Hammonds, was shot to death, said Graig Brown, Whiteside’s uncle and legal guardian. Hammonds, a victim of a hate crime, played football, too. He was a tough, small linebacker at Artesia High, Brown said. After he died at age 27, Brown wanted to care for Whiteside as Hammonds was his adopted brother.

"Cecil was in Compton, not doing very well as far as the environment he was in," Brown said. "It was a difficult lifestyle and he wasn’t getting presented the opportunity to succeed. We were able to provide him an opportunity to better his life and move forward and get him into an academic program that would help his future."

"We’re going to be extremely proud when he gets his high school diploma," Brown said. "That was our goal, to get him to graduate high school and have a happy childhood. So everything now is pretty much gravy."

Austin Hinder, QB
Steamboat Springs, CO

If Austin can’t be Tom Brady, he would like to be… Tiger Woods! (Video via Prepticket.com)

In related news:

Josh Shirley, LB
Fontana, CA

Offered a Cal scholarship, the Army All-American LB is visiting Arizona this weekend.

Toney Hurd Jr., CB
Missouri City, TX

Offered a Cal scholarship but committed to Notre Dame.

Micah Hatchie, OT
Waialua, HI

Offered a Cal scholarship, Micah has wrapped up his senior season. He plans to visit Washington and Oregon, and may take all five-official visits.

by Ben Margot - AP

We'll probably see Brandon Smith and Max Zhang plenty next year. But this season?

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The season tips off against Murray State Monday night at 8 PM PST/11 PM EST, and you can watch the game on ESPNU! Rags will have a preview of the game in tonight's open thread. If you want to start panicking, stare at this horrifying line Vegas posted for the game.

Preseason basketball is a strange animal. Strategy-wise, you learn nothing. Rotation-wise, you learn even less.
This one's all about getting a taste of the icing before diving in.

Unsurprisingly, we learned the least about our seniors. Randle made one of those crazy 3s and had a few nice drives and dishes to Christopher.  Theo nailed some wide open shots. In many ways, it was just like old times.

There was only one thing I noticed that I didn't see during those old times. We're playing really hard on the defensive ball.

Chico State only shot 29%, and I can't recall many easy shots. The Bears played very well off their man, scrambled into their rotations, made sure no Chico player got off a good look. They forced 25 turnovers, a trouble spot all of last season. Most importantly, they played great as a team, ratcheting up the pressure on every possession.

Now let me say that it's just effort at this point. We don't really know how efficient the Bears D will be until they start playing quality opponents, starting in Madison Square Garden. But right now I'm really digging the way Cal is digging in. Even Randle sees it.

"I liked the intensity. As a team, we came out and tried to stop them, put it on them defensively. I think the defensive intensity was definitely there. I was proud of my team."

Chico State is not a very good team, so you're free to take what I'm saying and file it away. But if the Bears can replicate that effort through the season and especially on the road, maybe they're as good as our early ranking shows. We should know more in 12 hours.

After the jump, snap judgments and quick thoughts on the players.

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Teams that control their own destiny: Oregon, Arizona

Teams that are still contending: USC, Furd, Oregon State

Teams on the respirator in the Pac-10 race: Cal (The most plausible scenario where the Bears go to Pasadena is if we win out, giving us the head-to-head over Arizona and Furd, Arizona and ASU beat Oregon, Furd and Arizona beat USC, ASU beats Arizona, and Oregon and UW beat Oregon State. That's the MOST PLAUSIBLE scenario.).

Teams eliminated from the Pac-10 race: Wazzu, UCLA, UW, ASU

Teams that will be eliminated from a bowl with one more loss: UW.

Teams eliminated from bowl contention: Wazzu.

Probably the question Cal fans are asking right now: Is there a way the Bears get eliminated from bowl contention?

Well, the Bears would almost certainly have to drop their final three (if they win one of their final three, they'll at least finish the season 7-5, just about guaranteeing a bowl bid), which would drop them to at best 6th in the Pac-10. Considering the way we've played against better teams, this isn't the craziest scenario.

Then, either ASU, UW or UCLA would have to win out.

Arizona State's final three games: at Oregon, at UCLA, Arizona
UCLA's final three games: at Wazzu, ASU, at USC
UW's final three games: at OSU, Wazzu, Cal

Now if two of these teams can run the table, that would drop Cal to 8th, and in no man's land since there are only six official tie-ins (with the possibility for another one if two teams get to the BCS). Cal at 7th still gives us a chance, but we'd need Oregon/Arizona and USC to win out to have a good shot at that. So that's the doomsday scenario.

Of course, it bears mentioning that bowls are not obligated to respect the results of head-to-head matchups when choosing from among tied teams.  If, say, Cal and UCLA were to end up tied for 6th at 6-6, 3-6 in the conference, the choice would be up to the Poinsettia Bowl to pick either the Bears or the Bruins.  You might see the San Diego bowl favor the team from Southern California, however, so it's best not to leave these things to chance.

It also bears mentioning that, should the Bears go 1-2 down the stretch while UCLA wins out and Stanfurd wins at least one more game, more than 6 Pac-10 teams could end up with a winning record.  If the Poinsettia then takes a 7-5 UCLA team over a 7-5 Cal team, the Bears would at least be in pretty good shape for getting an at-large bid from some other bowl, for there is an NCAA rule that says that every 7-5 team must be taken before a 6-6 team can be given an at-large bid to a bowl.

Alright, onto what most Pac-10 fans care about. Who's going to the Rose Bowl? Plus, a guest appearance by the eminent ragnarok!

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Aaron Rodgers and his crappy offensive line are struggling to beat the winless Bucs (2 TDs, 1 INT, 50% completions)

Tully Banta-Cain is having fun tearing up Miami's O-line.

Tony Gonzalez is slashing through the Redskins.

Desean versus the Cowboys coming up later tonight!

Hi, I'm Steve Marshall. You might remember me as the guy who coached the O-line that got David Carr sacked 76 times or the dude that coached an O-line on a Browns team that had the fifth to last  rushing offense in the NFL last year. You might also remember me as the guy who's spent no more than one to two years at any one destination. You'd think that'd be a telling sign that teams might be happy to get rid of me.

I currently am the Cal offensive line coach. Instead of utilizing simple blocking concepts a former successful Cal offensive line coach used for seven years that worked to perfection, I'm going to give a bunch of 19-23 year old o-linemen a thousand different pro style concepts that they need to cram in their heads in a month of fall practice and a few hours each week. That way when they face good defenses they'll stumble, make mental and physical errors, turn one of the most potent college running offenses of the past decade into crap, and help reacquaint Cal fans with a Holmoe-level experience I feel they've lacked. Keeps them from feeling optimistic about anything.

Case in point, today's game. I'm going to show how I can make the worst Pac-10 pass rush in the conference look like the Chicago 46. As follows:

Gets pressured on the first snap, dumps it off to Best on a broken play. This is not going to be a one-time thing.

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via www.uab.edu

Leave your postgame thoughts here. We'll have something later tonight or early in the morning. Grade your Bears after the jump (or click here to do so!)

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And we have our most compelling stretch of football of the season. Thank goodness you'll be missing the end of each of these games to switch over to the Cal-Oregon State kickoff.

12:30 PM PST/3:30 PM EST

Oregon at Furd, FSN HD: On the one hand, I'd kind of like to see Oregon get knocked down a few notches. On the other hand, it's the Furd. But on the one hand, I don't want Oregon making inroads into our usual recruiting spots. Yet, on the other hand, it's the Furd. However, on the one hand, an Oregon loss is the first in a thousand steps that could somehow help Cal. Though on the other hand, it's the Furd...

LSU at Alabama, CBS HD: Saban Bowl III: It's been a great game every season. Can't see that changing this year, especially with a SEC title berth on the line.

Ohio State at Penn State, ABC HD to most of the country, ESPN2/ESPN360.com elsewhere. The Buckeye road to Pasadena? Win out.  This is their toughest test (they're likely to be HUGE favorites next week at home against Iowa). Penn State's road? Win out, hope Iowa stumbles twice. An 11-1 season might not be enough for another BCS berth...

Wake Forest at Georgia Tech, ESPN2 HD to most of the country: Seems like the perfect game for a typical ACC frontrunner to  lose at home, doesn't it?

Oklahoma State at Iowa State, ESPN360.com to most of the country: Iowa State needs to win to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive. Wait, WHAT?

Duke at North Carolina, ESPNU: David Cutcliffe and company have the Dukies one win away from bowl eligibility. Even more bizarre, they have them two wins (including one over Georgia Tech) away from the best record in the ACC. Sometimes it's better to dream about these things before they get shattered by reality.

Washington at UCLA, Fox Prime Ticket, FSN NW, FCS Central: Must-win for each of these 3-5 teams to stay in the hunt for a December bowl. UCLA surprisingly has the easier road--a trip to Pullman and a home date with ASU follow, both imminently winnable games. UDub...well, they have the Cougars, but they also have Oregon State and Cal.

Wazzu at Arizona, FCS Atlantic: This seems like exactly the type of game that Mike Stoops would blow, or have his team be uncomfortably close to in the 2nd half. Or at least that's what old Mike Stoops would do. I miss old Mike Stoops.

TCU at San Diego State (4 PM PST/7 PM EST): Keep on winning, keep on trudging to Tempe...

Army at Air Force, CBS College Sports TV: Happy Veterans Day weekend.

Discuss the morning action here, from College Gameday through the morning games.

9 AM PST/noon PM EST

Northwestern at Iowa, ESPN: Wonder how Iowa will find itself down by 10 in the 4th quarter this time.

UCF at Texas, FSN HD/CSN California: Texas's remaining schedule--at Baylor, Kansas, at Texas A&M, Big 12 title game. They have probably, at worst, a 30 percent shot at blowing their ticket to Pasadena (i.e. over a 90% chance of winning each upcoming game, probably better).

Syracuse at Pitt, ESPNU: Very quietly, Pitt remains undefeated in the Big East heading into big tilts at home with Notre Dame and Cincinnati coming to town. This probably is the perfect week for Dave Wannstedt to not-so-quietly drop another baffling loss to the Greg Paulus machine.

South Carolina at Arkansas, SEC Network/CSN California (kickoff 9:21/12:21): Battle for the Outback Bowl!

Louisville at West Virginia, ESPN360.com: Are you a fan of trainwrecks, car crashes, and shit blowing up? Then you haven't lived until you've seen Louisville football.

Virginia at Miami, ESPN360.com: Meh.

9:30 AM PST/12:30 PM PST

Kansas at Kansas State, Versus HD: The same team that lost to UCLA, I repeat, the same team that lost to UCLA, is three wins away from being the last hope for the other undefeated teams to sneak into Pasadena.

11:30 AM PST/2:30 PM PST

Navy at Notre Dame, NBC HD: The "I want Notre Dame out of the BCS" watch begins. Can Navy save us?

Answer what you want.

1. Suppose Boise State and Oregon were to finish as the 2nd or 3rd best teams in the country. Who would you send to the title game?

2. If Penn State beat Ohio State and Ohio State beat Iowa, who would go to the Rose Bowl? (EDIT: My bad, Ohio State has already one loss to Purdue. This scenario isn't as fun as it originally sounds. HT Thoroughbred).

3. If Cincinnati, Iowa, Boise or TCU finish the season undefeated, should they get passed over by a 1 loss Big 12/SEC/Pac-10 champion for the national title?

4. Suppose the Pac-10 has two 10 win teams at the end of the season. Do they both deserve BCS bids over a 10 win Notre Dame team or an undefeated mid-major? More importantly, will they both get it?

5. Let's say there's an upset in the Big 12 or ACC title games. Does a 9-4 Kansas State team and a 12-1 Texas team both deserve BCS bids, and will they both get it? Would an 8-5 Clemson team and a 11-2 Georgia Tech team both deserve BCS bids, and will they both get it?

6. If it comes down to TCU, Cincinnati, Iowa or Boise as the only undefeateds and everyone else had two losses, who would you put in the title game?

7. Let's say, like last year, every team in every big conference had one loss. Since Oregon had its loss earliest in the season, would you put them in the national title game?