Gone are the days when you thought of Cal as a basketball school, with football being seen as an afterthought. The Bears finished the 2006 campaign with a 10-3 record, including a share of the Pac-10 conference championship, and went out in dramatic fashion tonight, after thumping Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, by a score of 45-10.The game, broadcast on ESPN, featured a pair of 100-plus yard rushers in Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, and near-flawless passing by Cal quarterback Nate Longshore, who only had a first-half interception to blemish his record.
Though the game was close through halftime, Cal poured on 31 unanswered points in the second half to run up the score, much to our delight. As three-year season ticket holders, my wife and I have grown to know this team and its players. Now, the season is over, and we look to the next year with new faces, new challenges, and ever higher expectations.