The Cal football team is back in the national rankings today after putting up a 66-spot on Saturday.

The Bears are No. 23 in the AP rankings and No. 25 in the USA Today poll. I’d venture a guess that everybody associated with the team will stress just how much unimportant the rankings really are. Coach Tedford is going to say that he hasn’t seen them (which is probably true.) But that little number goes a long way in the eye of the national viewer.

It’s March 1. You know what that means? It’s almost time for Spring Ball.

The Cal football team has much to prove. Much to prove. I think Jeff Tedford has much to prove next year. Especially considering the fact that the Bears’ most recent recruiting class isn’t as star-studded or as eye-opening as it was in the past.

And no one should forget that monumental collapse that Cal suffered at the end of last season. An Armed Forces Bowl win over a so-so non-BCS team led by a young, exciting quarterback shouldn’t give Bears fans rose-colored glasses (in more than one sense of the word, if you get my drift).

In ESPN’s little spring prospectus, Cal is coming in as the sixth best team in the Pac-10. That’s a mighty fall for a team that on Oct. 8 of last year was ranked No. 2 in the country. (Click here to read more…)