California Golden Bears
2001 record: 1-10 (0-8)
Coach: Jeff Tedford (1st season)
Starters returning: 7 offense, 9 defense, 2 specialists

Outlook: Talk about a tree falling in the woods an no one hearing it -- did you know that the NCAA banned Cal from a bowl game this year because of various missteps, including academic fraud and recruiting violations? Bowl game? These guys? The Bears also will surrender nine scholarships over the next four years.

Golly, first-year coach Jeff Tedford, Oregon's former offensive coordinator, just thought he was inheriting a 1-10 team with outdated facilities and a lackadaisical fan base.

	Around The Pac-10
	Arizona Wildcats
	Arizona State Sun Devils
	California Golden Bears
	Oregon Ducks
	Oregon State Beavers
	Stanford Cardinal
	UCLA Bruins
	USC Trojans
	Washington Huskies
	Washington State Cougars

The good news is no Pac-10 team has more returning starters (18). Or is that the bad news? After all, the Bears had the worst offense and defense in the league.

It's probably unfair, but the season depends on senior quarterback Kyle Boller. Tapped "Baby Jesus" by students when he and his prep All-American pedigree arrived four years ago, his underwhelming career in Strawberry Canyon can be attributed to a lack of supporting talent and an inaccurate arm (45 percent career completion percentage).

Tedford is great with quarterbacks (see, Harrington, Joey), and Boller looked good during spring drills, completing 10 of 11 passes for 154 yards in the spring game. If you're looking for a feel-good story in the conference this year, count on Boller turning in a solid season. Tedford's biggest task is finding some consistent receivers.

The defense will be led by steadily improving free safety Nnamdi Asomugha, but overall the crew lacks athleticism. Tully Banta-Cain had eight sacks and 17 tackles for a loss last year, and hopes are high that sophomore Lorenzo Alexander can be a force at defensive tackle.

Key game: Cal hasn't won "The Big Game" against Bay Area rival Stanford since 1994. A victory on Nov. 23 at home would be a significant boost for the struggling Bears.

Keep an eye on: Tailback -- will it be sophomore Terrell Williams, who led the team in rushing last year with 688 yards, or Joe Igber, who did so the previous two seasons?

It's a good year if . . . Five victories on the 12-game slate would be a major accomplishment.

Ted Miller covers the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.