Even though Cal still can finish in a tie for second place in the Pac-10 standings, the Bears will not be going to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, a source close to the Holiday Bowl said.

Pac-10 bowl arrangements dictate that the conference's second-place team is awarded a berth in the Holiday Bowl. In the event of a tie, the bowl has the right to choose which team it desires.

If the Oregon beats Oregon State tonight and Cal beats Washington on Saturday, the Bears will finish in four-way tie for second place along with Stanford, Oregon State and the winner of Saturday's Arizona-USC game. The source said in that scenario, the Holiday Bowl will take the Arizona-USC winner.

The desire to take USC is obvious. The Trojans typically garner huge television ratings, and their fans can make the short drive from Los Angeles for the game. The source said the bowl is interested in Arizona because Tucson is close enough to San Diego that fans can realistically drive to the game, and the Wildcats haven't appeared in the Holiday Bowl since 1998. Cal played there in 2004 and 2006.

That means the Bears likely will play in the Sun Bowl on New Year's Eve if they indeed finish tied for second. If Cal loses to the Huskies, it will finish in a tie for fifth place and go to either the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park, the Las Vegas Bowl or the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

  • Washington is just 4-7, but the Bears are fully aware it
    Advertisement
    is a much different team from the one they crushed 48-7 to close out last year's regular season, leaving the Huskies with an 0-12 record.

    Washington has home wins over USC and Arizona, and four of its losses have come by a touchdown or less.

    "They're definitely a different team," Cal defensive end Tyson Alualu said. "Every game they lost was a really good game — they were in it until the end. They definitely look like a really good team on film."

  • The latest forecast calls for just a 10 percent chance of rain Saturday but for a high of just 44 degrees. If there indeed is wet weather quarterback Kevin Riley is ready for it. Riley grew up in Portland, Ore., which has a similar climate as Seattle. So the junior knows a few things about playing in bad conditions.

    "I've played in a ton of games where it's just rained the whole time and been like 35 degrees," Riley said. "I actually enjoy it. I tell everybody I play better in the rain."

  • Starting left guard Matt Summers-Gavin, who has missed three games this season with a shoulder injury, suffered a concussion against Stanford and is questionable for Saturday. The team is expected to make a determination about his status today.

  • Linebacker Mike Mohamed, offensive lineman Mark Boskovich and wide receiver Alex Lagemann were all named to the Pac-10's All-Academic first team. Summers-Gavin, defensive end Ernest Owusu and kicker Giorgio Tavecchio earned second-team honors.