berserkeley said:
If Cal fans were arrogantly posting that we had the better team and were going to crush Florida State, you'd have a point. But no one here and no one in the media is seeing any of that in these Twitter posts.
You talk about the players getting inflated egos from the adulation from the media and I have no idea what you're talking about. Cal is not ranked nor partocularly close to being ranked. Florida State is 0-3 and they are FAVOERED against a 3-0 Cal team; that's bulletin board material for the Cal locker room. The only adulation from the media about Cal is for the team's fans and their memeing skills; it's not for the players.
This really feels more like PTSD from having watched Cal football for too many seasons. And this is a trap game, but not for the reasons you think. On paper, Florida State is the better team and they're playing at home in one of the tougher stadiums to play in. It's a trap game for the team because we'll get more flak for a loss than credit for a win. It's a trap game for the fans because we're feeling good about a 3-0 record and think maybe we can start beating the better teams. But there's no reason to think it's the type of trap game where a team overlooks its opponent because they think theyre the beter team (we're favored to lose) or because they're looking ahead (we have no one next week). The players will be focused on this game; Cal fans are about to learn whether it's the same old Cal football or not.
I don't disagree with the PTSD. I'm a long-time sufferer from Calsportsitis. I've seen waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too many Cal teams collapse just as they're on the precipice of national recognition after faint whiffs of praise.
That said, claiming Cal is an underdog ignores how the spread usually works. From what I've seen online, the spread is FSU -2.5. The home team usually gets an automatic 3 point bump in spread. Really, what the spread is saying is that Cal is slightly favored to win, but it's basically a toss-up.
Also, yes there's tons of Cal praise going on. Just some of the podcasts that have been posted to this board where the podcasters have discussed the game show that there's a lot of talk that (1) Cal is better than FSU, (2) Cal should be ranked, and (3) praising Cal's team (while simultaneously criticizing FSU's team). Obviously, these are just random podcasters (and there's also the selection bias since this is a Cal forum, it makes sense that posters would link podcasts speaking positively about Cal). However, the fact remains that these comments are out there and are equally available to the players.
As for Cal not being ranked, you're right about that. However, Cal is not far from being ranked. Per the votes in the most recent Coach's poll and the AP poll, Cal is in #38 and #40. There's an argument that Cal deserves to be ranked higher, especially since some higher ranked teams have played a weaker schedule (seriously, Memphis beat *check notes* Troy and Northern Alabama^ before beating FSU).
Frankly, though, I don't want Cal to be ranked early in the season. I'd much prefer Cal be ranked at the end of the season. That will mean Cal has more victories than losses and put up a highly competitive team that achieved some favorable results. Of course, an argument can be made that the higher Cal is ranked in the early season, the better Cal's chances of being highly ranked at the end.
Still, rankings aren't everything. What I really want to know is what we have in this year's Cal squad. ,It's show some flashes of greatness but also shown a lack of discipline and offensive inconsistency. FSU will be a good test to see where the Cal team really is. Whether Cal has been underrated (and should be ranked higher) but is a solid team? Or whether it's been overrated (and should be unranked) that just beat up some patsies. The answer to these questions should be answered come Saturday.
^Troy's not even tanked in the FCS Coaches poll, but Davis, who Cal beat, is ranked #12.
