Yes, yes, yes. That was a good win last week… but I’m not entirely certain why it was such a surprise. I’m almost offended for the players that many of the fans stormed the field after the game; that’s a pretty bad indictment about how low their expectations were coming into Martin Stadium last Saturday. That being said, it’s a new ballgame this weekend… and it’s gonna be a tough one to win.

Cal is definitely a tough opponent to gauge. They have lost three straight Pac-10 games after beating Oregon in Eugene, and only have one more conference win than Wazzu. They beat the Cougs 21-3 last year in Pullman, and according to the Vegas line of 14.5 right now, that’s not far from the margin the oddsmakers are predicting right now. Rivals.com has Cal winning 35-17 at home, and this is the same entity that predicted last week’s win over UCLA; they’ve actually been pretty accurate from what I’ve seen. Here’s the kicker though, that prediction was made pre-today’s news: WSU running back Dwight Tardy - the one who put up 214 yards against UCLA - injured his ACL on his last minute 51 yard touchdown run. The most painful thing about that run, other than the season-ending injury to Tardy, is that we really didn’t need that score to put the game away… it was already over by that time.

So that murkies the waters just a bit, and it’s gonna make me a little pessimistic about two wins in a row for the Cougs. Cal has a very balanced offense, and is pretty much middle of the road in the Pac-10 in both passing and rushing. If Doba can get his defense to play like they did last week… well, we still have Alex Brink and a core of wide receivers - not to mention Jed Collins - who can put up points and yards. So as much as I’d love to see the second upset in a row… I’m banking more on the Cougs last three games and figuring that this one is going to be the hardest to win from here on out.

Cal 28
WSU 20

I think this game is much more appropriate for field storming should it come down to it… and let’s certainly hope that my prediction is very much wrong in the favor of the Crimson and Grey.