Last season was a dream season for the Cal Bears. All season long, they were talked about among the top five teams in the country. They came very close last season to ending USC's run at the title and their performance was better than the #1 team in the country in all aspects but on the scoreboard. They were all set to continue the great performance in the Rose Bowl, their first appearance since 1959. And it would have happened if it hadn't been for Mack Brown and a few voters in the final polls of the season. Cal ended up being nosed by Texas for an automatic bid into the BCS pool and was shut out of the other bid by an undefeated Utah squad who also qualified automatically.

That disappointment off the field only compounded itself on the field. Against Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl, the Bears looked flat and fell flat on their face. If not for some late scoring by Cal, the game would have shown how much of a blowout it was on the scoreboard as well as in the memories of all involved. Coach Jeff Tedford said that the loss had nothing to do with getting shut out of the Rose Bowl, but something like that doesn't go away easily.

This year's Cal team is much different from last year's squad. Their quarterback now backs up Brett Favre in Wisconsin. Their top running back now a back-up for the Arizona Cardinals. They began the year with a quarterback controversy. Still, they had Marshawn Lynch.

Lynch has had to be the linchpin for the Bears all season long. In an offense which is often talked about as being a great breeding ground for quarterbacks, Tedford's running backs just seem to excel. Lynch rumbled for over 1000 yards this season and missed two games which could have inflated his numbers even more, against Illinois and New Mexico State. In his stead, the Bears looked to sophomore Justin Forsett. Forsett is just shy of 1000 yards on the season and in the two games that Lynch missed, he totaled 422 yards and three touchdowns. Together, this running core has held strong and been an important factor while their leadership position at quarterback has been up in the air.

Cal began the season with freshman Nathan Longshore at quarterback, and then he broke his leg. Junior Joseph Ayoob, the player that everyone though would replace Aaron Rodgers, replaced him and threw ten passes, completing none of them. Against a better opponent, you would worry, but this was against Sacramento State. The Bears were able to easily win the game behind their running game, but there was reason to worry in Berkeley. Ayoob was named the starter for the rest of the season and showed some glimpses of great play, but he fell apart late in the season.

So, it fell to a converted fullback, Steve Levy to lead the Bears. In his first start against rival Stanford, Levy passed for 125 yards and a touchdown. He will now be called on to win an even bigger game for Cal.

The Cal defense will be very tough against the run. Although they struggled against some very tough runners, BYU's talent at running back is not anything like what UCLA and USC put on the field against the Bears. Almost everyone on the defense had a tackle for a loss and combined, they logged 31 sacks. The entire game will probably be spent with the Cal defensive front playing on the Cougar side of the line. BYU had two players on their offensive make the All-MWC 2nd team and they will need them to be tough to stop this rush.

The Bears are vulnerable to a good passing attack so a lot will depend on the play of BYU signal caller, John Beck. Beck came into his own last season after a very impressive game against Boise State. This season was only an improvement over last year. He totaled 3357 yards and threw 24 touchdowns while only giving up 11 picks. In his final three ball games, he did not throw a pick and went 2-1 in those games. Beck yardage numbers were 5th in the NCAA. Ahead of him were quarterbacks from two offenses that really only throw the ball, Texas Tech and Hawaii, and two names that you probably know, Brady Quinn and Matt Leinart. That is pretty good company to be keeping in the rankings.

Beck spreads the ball around quite a bit. His top receiver was sophomore Jonny Harline who reeled in catches to the tune of 780 yards. He reached the end zone the most with senior Todd Watkins who caught 8 touchdowns.

Running the ball for the Cougars will be junior Curtis Brown. Brown topped 1000 yards for BYU and is also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. Look for the Cougars to attempt to establish Brown early to set up Beck's passing game. A lot of their success will depend on his ability to run the ball against the very tough Cal defense.

The BYU defense had two players elected to the All-MWC 2nd team on defense, lineman Manaia Brown and linebacker Cameron Jensen. Both of these players will need to be on their toes to defend against the very tough rushing offense of the Cal Bears. Jensen led the team in tackles including six for a loss. By far the most interesting numbers were turned in by senior Justin Luettgerodt. Luettgerodt was an All-MWC honorable mention but you could make the case that maybe he should have finished ahead of Jensen. Second on the team in tackles, he had 10.5 tackles for loss leading the team and was second on the team with 4.5 sacks. He also added 3 interceptions, coming in three straight weeks. Overall, he forced 6 turnovers which led to 35 points for the Cougars.

The Cal offense should be too much for the BYU defense, but stranger things have been known to happen. The Cougars need to get something out of their running game to have any hope of winning their first bowl game since 1998. Beck has a very good arm and should he return for his senior season, he will definitely get some looks at the next level. This would be a perfect opportunity for him to showcase some of that talent in the national spotlight. Should he be able to win this game against a much more talented team, look for that buzz to get even bigger.

Las Vegas Bowl: BYU(52) vs. Cal(37)
MRI Predicts: Cal Confidence factor: 72.32%, 14 out of 28