Next Year's NCAA Football Ratings

It's now several weeks into the college football season and the first round of BCS rankings have been released. My Cal Golden Bears sit poised at #8 in that mysteriously crazy formula. With the toughest portion of the Bears' schedule out of the way, it looks like smooth sailing into the Rose Bowl, with the team ready to leap up to #2 and a rematch with USC in the Orange Bowl, should enough of the guys in front falter. What? Two teams from the same conference duking it out for the national championship? And from the west coast no less? Hey, it could happen. To borrow a quote from the Red Sox Nation: "Why not us?" Don't worry Brian, I'm not cheering against Auburn, but if the Tigers run into some bad luck...hey, them's the breaks.

With all the success Cal football is having this year, I'm already looking forward to next year. Next year's NCAA Football video game, that is. Assuming QB Aaron Rodgers comes back for his senior year, he's a lock to be rated at 99 in the game. And EA ought to think about putting him on the cover. He's ranked 3rd in the country in pass efficiency, with 75% completions and 11TD against just 2 INT. Our offense is currently #1 in the country, gaining 518 ypg and scoring almost 42 points per game. Even the Cal defense is ranked 10th overall in the country, yielding a stingy 274 yards per game, better than USC and Oklahoma. I don't necessarily expect that lofty ranking to hold up all year, but clearly the squad was a bit underrated coming into the season.

So what's the point? The point is that if things more or less hold up for the rest of the year, I expect Cal to have an A+ offensive rating in next year's NCAA Football game, an A- defensive rating, and a top five preseason ranking. Considering what a woeful team the Bears have been in just about every NCAA Football game up until this year, this prospect is incredibly exciting. So take careful notes, EA, and keep an eye on our freshman back, Marshawn Lynch. Put Aaron Rodgers on the cover, and I'll buy 5 copies.