It's a little unsettling that everyone seems so confident we will beat Texas.

We definitely have the potential to blow them out with our powerful offense and improved defense. On the other hand, I worry about our special teams.

Anyone else a little concerned?

I'm confident, but definitely concerned as well. No shame in being confident.

same. confident but not cocky. or more specifically, cautiously confident

Of course. Nervous as can be. The last two years I just assumed we'd be terrible and lose. Now that I think we have a shot, I have a legit reason to be nervous.

LA papers have Ucla a little nervous about Stanfurd too..It's our first REAL test in a sense since Texas is Texas..It will be crazy and loud - although maybe not as frenzied as in days past. I am hopeful that we play four quarters of what we have seen as positive so far! Go Bears! Special teams need to be better.

Confident that we will be competing to win. That's a big step up, by itself.

72CalBear;842544509 said:

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LA papers have Ucla a little nervous about Stanfurd too..It's our first REAL test in a sense since Texas is Texas..It will be crazy and loud - although maybe not as frenzied as in days past. I am hopeful that we play four quarters of what we have seen as positive so far! Go Bears! Special teams need to be better.

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UCLA or USC? If it's UCLA, then they're looking REALLY ahead to playing stanford

My bad..U$C

What is unsettling about it? We aren't playing.

I think Cal can beat Texas but I'm not yelling it. Best to dial it back until the deed is done...however poking the cow with a stick before the game can be fun.

Any way, CFB road games are always tough and the more time zones, the tougher.

Me too. I much more prefer the times where we are not confident, the media and vegas say we will lose (and lose big) and then we lose (big).

I was a lot more nervous going into the SDSU game, which looked like a trap game and a bad matchup. The scenario that unfurled in the first 20min of the game could have conceivably gone on.

It's going to take a lot of big breakdowns on ST and D for Texas to have a chance at upsetting us. Without those we should win by double digits. UT is a lower-middle B12 team with shaky foundations, they might get better later this season but right now they're very vulnerable.

OsoDorado;842544495 said:

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It's a little unsettling that everyone seems so confident we will beat Texas.

We definitely have the potential to blow them out with our powerful offense and improved defense. On the other hand, I worry about our special teams.

Anyone else a little concerned?

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I'm curious, why is it unsettling? I expect a win and will be disappointed if the Bears lose. I think the team feels the same way. As long as they play with extreme effort, what the heck...I wouldn't want a timid, unsure team to show up in front of 100,000 opposing fans!! I want some confidence and a bada** attitude!!!

I've had this weekend marked for some time. The two teams I follow religiously (Cal- my school; Ga Tech- my dad's school) both have big time, "show me" games. Cautiously optimistic for both. Could be an epic Saturday with two big wins.

Dbearson;842544518 said:

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Me too. I much more prefer the times where we are not confident, the media and vegas say we will lose (and lose big) and then we lose (big).

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A review of the current odds generally have us as 6 point favorites per Vegas. Vegas is confident too. If they were playing at CMS, we would be 9 point favorites.

[video=youtube;wMykYSQaG_c][/video]

Confident but I would not be surprised if we lost. Tough place to play... honestly, dont expect to win this game but would be surprised if we get blown out.

I don't really know what to make of this game. Texas' new QB is supposed to be quite mobile and perhaps faster than anyone on our defense, so that is worrisome for sure. Texas has the more highly rated recruits but is very young. I don't expect a big Cal win; I think it is either close or suddenly Texas offense clicks and we are in deep trouble. I am not worried about our players being ready, but the environment may be intimidating. I feel like this is a classic trap game; not for the team, but for the fans. I remain cautiously optimistic.

89Bear;842544527 said:

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I'm curious, why is it unsettling? I expect a win and will be disappointed if the Bears lose. I think the team feels the same way. As long as they play with extreme effort, what the heck...I wouldn't want a timid, unsure team to show up in front of 100,000 opposing fans!! I want some confidence and a bada** attitude!!!

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It's unsettling when everyone seems to be thinking the same thing, especially when everyone agrees with me.

Texas has all the signs for an unexpected surge during this game, IMO. Seems like the team vocally prefers Heard over swoopes and they are coming off of a win (even if it was against Rice). That coupled with the fact that they're at home, I wouldn't expect a huge win by Cal. Although it was interesting to see how many yards their defense surrendered to Rice

WhipItOutJoe;842544536 said:

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I don't really know what to make of this game. Texas' new QB is supposed to be quite mobile and perhaps faster than anyone on our defense, so that is worrisome for sure. Texas has the more highly rated recruits but is very young. I don't expect a big Cal win; I think it is either close or suddenly Texas offense clicks and we are in deep trouble. I am not worried about our players being ready, but the environment may be intimidating. I feel like this is a classic trap game; not for the team, but for the fans. I remain cautiously optimistic.

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"trap game" is overused and used incorrectly

there is nothing about this game that could possibly constitute as a trap game, for either side

I remember being on the BART before the 2004 Oregon game. A Cal fan told me, "it's so refreshing to know that we SHOULD win this game, that's so different for Cal." I nodded my head and realized that it was a rare time for our program. Then we proceeded to almost lose to the Ducks LOL. The point is not that we almost lost but there is a little 2004 happening under our midst. I don't think we are the 2004 team (who knows, if our defense steps up), but I like the inner swagger that's developing, from the fans, players, and coaches.

+1. Its beyond confidence - its reached arrogance. When you talk about beating the spread and how UT is in turmoil with a demoted OC and an AD shown the door...I get worried. I still remember us traveling to UofA when they were in turmoil...and we got our azzes handed to us. Or was it ASU? We were favored but lost. Stick to facts and strategy and stop talking about the spread!

the fans are too confident = doom. said no coach ever

The number of times we score and the number of times we will be disappointed with our kickoff coverage are highly correlated. Yes, I'm concerned.

i'm terrified.

I am confident about our chances, am glad I am not playing, have faith that the players are preparing with confidence but humility, don't believe in karma, and will enjoy this season and this group of players irrespective of whether they win this game. As much as I enjoyed watching us win the first two weeks, I enjoyed just cheering for this team. It is fun to be a Cal fan again...and that fun is not driven solely by wins and losses...it is driven by the character of this team and the type of game they play. As such, I don't watch the games fretting about whether my confidence is going to have one bit of influence on the team. I watch the game as a means of connecting with my school and my fellow Bears.

If this program is to take the next step, we must beat Texas. I expect a win.

MilleniaBear;842544548 said:

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+1. Its beyond confidence - its reached arrogance. When you talk about beating the spread and how UT is in turmoil with a demoted OC and an AD shown the door...I get worried. I still remember us traveling to UofA when they were in turmoil...and we got our azzes handed to us. Or was it ASU? We were favored but lost. Stick to facts and strategy and stop talking about the spread!

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You may be thinking of the home game v. Arizona in 2002:

http://scores.espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=223200025

What I'm concerned about (see some parallels?):

Quote:

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The Golden Bears have made a remarkable turnaround under Jeff Tedford, in his first year at Berkeley, but they awoke memories of the 1-10 team of last season in a discouraging defensive performance. Their
terrible pass coverage cost them a chance to clinch their first
winning season since 1993.

"'All week long, we tried to talk about how they're not our
issues, they're (Arizona's) issues,'' Tedford said. ''But you don't
know how much of it sinks into the players when they're seeing the
media and the interviews and reading stuff. I'm not going to blame
it on that, though. It's our job to get them ready to play.''

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NYCGOBEARS;842544562 said:

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If this program is to take the next step, we must beat Texas. I expect a win.

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+1

KoreAmBear;842544563 said:

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You may be thinking of the home game v. Arizona in 2002:

http://scores.espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=223200025

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I also remember the Ducks in 2009 being in turmoil, and the Bears being highly regarded. The Ducks had lost to Boise State and barely beat Purdue and Utah. We went in ranked in the top 10. We got destroyed and we ushered in the Chip Kelly era.

None of that had to do with Cal fans being over confident.

calbear93;842544561 said:

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I am confident about our chances, am glad I am not playing, have faith that the players are preparing with confidence but humility, don't believe in karma, and will enjoy this season and this group of players irrespective of whether they win this game. As much as I enjoyed watching us win the first two weeks, I enjoyed just cheering for this team. It is fun to be a Cal fan again...and that fun is not driven solely by wins and losses...it is driven by the character of this team and the type of game they play. As such, I don't watch the games fretting about whether my confidence is going to have one bit of influence on the team. I watch the game as a means of connecting with my school and my fellow Bears.

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Gotta quote this solid post.

MilleniaBear;842544548 said:

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+1. Its beyond confidence - its reached arrogance. When you talk about beating the spread and how UT is in turmoil with a demoted OC and an AD shown the door...I get worried. I still remember us traveling to UofA when they were in turmoil...and we got our azzes handed to us. Or was it ASU? We were favored but lost. Stick to facts and strategy and stop talking about the spread!

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agree. All these threads about Texas being in turmoil really doesnt matter. Why do we want to beat a team that's in turmoil? I'd much rather see our team beat a traditional power like Texas when they're at their best, cause that says more about where we're going as a program.

If we beat a team that's in "turmoil"...that's all that it's gonna be...that we're a program that's only good enough to beat some team when they're down.

I am extremely confident that we will win.

The only apprehension is that Texas is a mess and we don't know what to expect, they are shuffling coaches and players around and it's only Week 2. On the other hand, our guys are confident because they know they are a better team, their gameplan is set, and have something to prove this weekend.