Cal v. Arizona - Last home game is big for Golden Bears

Cal plays Arizona today at California Memorial Stadium at 4 PM PST. While you can catch the contest on Versus Television in the Bay Area, I recommend getting a ticket and coming to Berkeley. This is a game with huge implications on a big day in Pac-10 Football.

As I wrote earlier in the week, if Cal beats Arizona ( putting the Wildcats at 5 and 2 in the Pac-10), Stanford shocks USC (lifting the Cardinal to 6 and 2), and Oregon slips against Arizona State (placing the Ducks at 5 and 2), that would produce a near three-way tie for first in the Pac-10. It would also make the Cal / Stanford Big Game a really big deal next Saturday.

But can Cal clobber Arizona as the Golden Bears are favored to do?

It will certainly be an emotional game for Cal Fullback Brian Holley, a senior who's playing his last game in Memorial Stadium. He told Ted Lee of BearInsider:

“It's surreal right now,” said the 5-foot-9, 237-pound Holley. “I've called this place home for four-and-a-half almost five seasons. It's hard to imagine not coming out of the tunnel and hearing these fans. There was a point during the game (last Saturday), I don't remember which quarter it was, but I felt the crowd cheering very hard. For a brief second I looked around and thought like wow, this is great being in front of this crowd and there are so many fans being part of this program. For a brief second I thought about how I was going to miss it, but then again, the feeling passed I got focused.”

Regarding focus, one key to look for in this game is the offensive passing game plan and the play of Cal Quarterback Kevin Riley. The season long statistic of Cal winning when Riley completes over 65 percent of his throws still holds. Right now, Riley's rating, once at 138.49, is now at 135.49 with the loss to Oregon State.

But Riley's passer rating is still strong because he's thrown 14 touchdowns versus three interceptions for 2005 yards. Where he's suffering is his completion percentage, which is at 55.6 percent as of this writing. From a pure statisical perspective that points to a possible .500 season the rest of the way. But all of that depends as much on the game plan as Riley himself.

The game promises to be an offensive shootout, with Arizona scoring an average of 32.3 points, but allowing an average of 22 points per game. Arizona has not won at Cal in four years.

Cal v. Arizona at 4 PM PST. Be there. Aloha! GO BEARS!