I've read just about every tweet with the words "Cal" and "Hawaii" over the past week.

Many people are of course giving a backhanded compliment to this matchup.

But most are seemingly just grateful to have real college football back, and back one week early (especially as an alternative to those boring exhibition NFL games).

We really are at the center of the college football universe tonight.

When is the last time that happened? Utah? When will that happen again? (Is Texas @ Cal vs. any big games? Probably....)

Gotta figure this will be our most-watched game (nationally) all season and by a good bit, right?

A lot of hatters. What kind of match ups have opening games historically been? I can't recall any significant ones. At least it's 2 FBS teams playing.

TheSouseFamily;842717759 said:

---

Gotta figure this will be our most-watched game (nationally) all season and by a good bit, right?

---

yep. nationally i'm betting 75%+ of bars have it on one TV at least.

SFBear2012;842717763 said:

---

A lot of hatters. What kind of match ups have opening games historically been? I can't recall any significant ones. At least it's 2 FBS teams playing.

---

i don't recall any single opening game weekends, at least not during my CFB fandom.

I agree, this is pretty cool. Hopefully we look good.... good time to #drop60

Lot of backhanded compliments out there on twitter

thats fine. prior to Webb/DRob/Stovall/Spav coming I was pretty sure we were going to be a 4-5 win team, and 95% of CFB assumed that and have no clue we have some players on offense at least.

Hopefully they learn tonight.

SadbutTrue999;842717775 said:

---

i don't recall any single opening game weekends, at least not during my CFB fandom.

I agree, this is pretty cool. Hopefully we look good.... good time to #drop60

---

Cal played KSU in 2003 the regular season started in the BCA Kickoff Classic. The NCAA used to allow 1-2 of these per year, and they often had some kind of charitable component. Not sure why the NCAA stopped allowing the extra early games (2003 I believe was the last one), or why they let this one happen.

It would seem if you are going to start in Australia you'd have to start a week early or nobody would do it- even with that you'd still need the bye on real week 1 which would be a bummer for most teams. I think it's a good will thing, good pay day, spreads the brand internationally and makes the season longer so the NCAA'd like it

pingpong2;842717776 said:

---

Lot of backhanded compliments out there on twitter

---

EFF the hatterz... amirite bois??!

I'm almost excited!

I will watch from Levi's if I can.

I love the exposure and this match-up. Reminds me of the 2003 opener against Kansas State. Great game even though we lost. Established a solid foundation for the next few years.

GB54;842717788 said:

---

It would seem if you are going to start in Australia you'd have to start a week early or nobody would do it- even with that you'd still need the bye on real week 1 which would be a bummer for most teams. I think it's a good will thing, good pay day, spreads the brand internationally and makes the season longer so the NCAA'd like it

---

That might be the difference. We get a free bye week and exposure (hopefully good). Hawaii gets exposure and a paycheck. If it wasn't a week in advance there'd be little incentive.

But I guess the KSU game was also by itself? I'm not sure there's a formal rule against it; but if teams could get early games without travelling I'm sure a lot would jump at it. Especially teams where school isn't an obstacle (which it is a little for us with school starting this week... but a quarter system school could get a game plus some extra healing in early without worrying about it)

KSU was an extra game. Back then if you played in the early season openers it didn't count against against the total number of games you could play in a season. We went 8-6 that year. One bowl game, 12 regular season games, and the KSU game. I think they eliminated the rule making it not count against the total games and that's why it went away.

boredom;842717835 said:

---

KSU was an extra game. Back then if you played in the early season openers it didn't count against against the total number of games you could play in a season. We went 8-6 that year. One bowl game, 12 regular season games, and the KSU game. I think they eliminated the rule making it not count against the total games and that's why it went away.

---

Why did we play 13 regular season games that season?

Why did we play 12 regular season games in 2002?

okaydo;842717839 said:

---

Why did we play 13 regular season games that season?

Why did we play 12 regular season games in 2002?

---

Most likely those were the two trial 12 game seasons before they made the 12th game permanent.


From 2005 article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/28/AR2005042801872.html
Brand dismissed the notion that an extra game would detract from players' studies. During the two years in which a 12th game was played on a trial basis, Brand pointed out, athletes' graduation rates actually increased. Those statistics, however, reflected graduation rates for athletes who had entered school six years prior.

okaydo;842717839 said:

---

Why did we play 13 regular season games that season?

Why did we play 12 regular season games in 2002?

---

What I was saying was that the KSU game was the extra 13th game. There were a couple of season opener special games that didn't count against the cap of 12, likely as an incentive to get major conference teams to come play early season neutral site games. We didn't have that type of game on our schedule in 2002 so we played 12. That's my recollection of it anyway.

HaasBear04;842717794 said:

---

I will watch from Levi's if I can.

---

A meaningless exhibition is more important to you than a real game?

Can somebody clear this up.........
I just heard Berkeley was playing Hawaii, but the TV guide says Cal is.......I'm confused.....which is it?

Bears2thDoc;842717873 said:

---

Can somebody clear this up.........
I just heard Berkeley was playing Hawaii, but the TV guide says Cal is.......I'm confused.....which is it?

---

Please don

Hopefully a good omen of things to come!!!

This may be the most watched Cal game in the history of Cal football.