Cal held its weekly luncheon Tuesday, and the best way I could sum up the players’ attitude is motivated.

Sure, the Bears are a bit down after back-to-back losses, but I think they’re also a bit angry, and ready to take that out on their next opponent. Guard Brian De La Puente said “hungry” was the best way to describe the mood of the team.

The players present Tuesday all talked about the fact that the Rose Bowl was still possible. That was a far cry from immediately after Saturday’s loss, when some of the players seemed almost ready to write off the season. Not in a way in which they would stop trying, but they seemed almost resigned to the fact that they weren’t going to the BCS title game or the Rose Bowl.

Surely, the BCS title game is out. But the Bears could still make it to the Rose Bowl. It would take a handful of different things happening, but it’s not totally out of the question. Let’s not forget that Cal shared the Pac-10 title last season with two losses. The major difference is there are more teams in the running this year.

But the possibility of still going to the Rose Bowl seemed to rejuvenate the team. Wide receiver Robert Jordan said he took it up on himself to make sure his teammates understood there is still a lot to play for this season. Jordan said he probably would be back this Saturday after missing last week with a sprained shoulder. Jordan currently is tied with Brian Treggs for the Cal record for most consecutive games with a catch (36).

Jordan and De La Puente all but guaranteed the Bears would beat Arizona State this weekend. “Everything will be all right, and we’ll beat Arizona State,” Jordan said. “We’re going to come back and get this one this weekend,” De La Puente said.

Jeff Tedford was especially candid Tuesday. He admitted he hasn’t slept much the past few nights second-guessing some of his own play calls. He said the reason he called two running plays on the final drive before Nate Longshore’s costly interception was because of the defense UCLA was in. He said he thought the play he called would wind up as a big gain, but UCLA’s defensive end simply made a good individual play to break it up.

Tedford said he also stuck with the running game because of the success Cal has had all season running the ball. He said even though UCLA’s defense was doing a good job slowing down the Bears’ running attack, he always thought that next play was going to be a big one.

Alex Mack, Greg Van Hoesen, Robert Jordan, Brandon Hampton and Justin Forsett all came to Tuesday’s media luncheon. Forsett is one of the more thoughtful, engaging guys on the team. We were joking around with him today that no matter what he does this season, he’ll probably always be remembered for not getting that elusive yard in his 999-yard season of 2005. Somebody asked him how he would feel this year if he got 1,999 yards, instead of 2,000?

“1,999? That’d be nice,” he said.

Of course, getting near the 2,000-yard mark would move him in the range of J.J. Arrington’s record-breaking 2004 season, when he gained 2,018 yards on the ground. Forsett rushed for 156 yards against Tennessee. Just for fun: If he averaged that over 13 games (12 regular season games and a bowl game), he’d finished with 2,028 yards.

Speaking of Arrington, Forsett said he was on hand Saturday, along with fellow former standout running back Adimchinobe Echemandu. Forsett said Marshawn Lynch wasn’t able to make it, but he received several text messages from him as well as other former players after the game. Forsett also said his father, Rodney, talked with Lynch by telephone during the game.

“My dad told him, ‘Look at that boy run’,” Forsett said.

Jordan, who is Lynch’s cousin, said he also received a text message from Lynch at halftime and got it after the game. Jordan said it’s been hard not having his cousin around for the first time this season.

Hampton was satisfied with his first outing as a starting cornerback. Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge had an efficient day passing but the Vols didn’t throw the ball downfield very much. That may have been because Ainge was playing with a broken pinky on his throwing hand. Tennesse wide receiver Lucas Taylor did have a strong day with six catches for 103 yards.

“I have more to prove, but it was a good start,” Hampton said.

Van Hoesen was asked about Colorado State tight end Kory Sperry, who caught eight passes for 103 yards and three touchdowns during the Rams’ overtime loss to Colorado on Saturday.

“Our tight end isn’t much of a slouch, either,” he said, referring to the Bears’ All-Pac-10 tight end Craig Stevens. “Practicing against Craig will definitely prepare us for this next week.”

One of the popular questions of the players Tuesday was how they would deal with the high altitude of Fort Collins, Colorado. Some of Cal’s players were around when they played at Air Force to open the 2004 season.

Mack joked that the Bears would be fine because it couldn’t measure up to a Cal practice.

“I think the games are easier than the practices,” Mack said. “When you have a great play, you run 30 yards down field and you stop there. In practice, you run 30 yards down field and you run 30 yards back. You have all kinds of things happening that slow the game down quite a bit. I don’t think we’re going to be out of breath or exhausted. I think we’ll be just fine.”

Another prevailing theme Tuesday was how Saturday showcased just how deep the Bears are as far as playmakers are concerned. I will have a story in Wednesday’s paper about this topic. Coach Jeff Tedford basically said the Bears take what the defense gives them, and usually they can make them pay for what they give them.

“Our reads are going to take us to different places,” he said. “It’s nice to know that if your read does take you some place, the chance of that guy winning are pretty good. It’s almost impossible to say this ball is going to that guy on every play.”

Tedford said last week he gets a knot in his stomach before every game, whether it’s Tennessee or an opponent of lower profile. So somebody asked him Tuesday if he has the same knot in his stomach as he did at this time last week

“I sure do,” he said. “It never changes. Each and every week I have the same feeling in my stomach at the same time.”

When asked if it would be a bad thing if he didn’t have this knot in his stomach, Tedford replied: “I don’t know. I’ve never had it.”

Right tackle Mike Tepper said he dropped his weight from 335 pounds to 307 in June, and now is up to 311. He said he wanted to play at 307 but the coaches wanted him more like 315. 311 became a middle ground.

So how did he lose the weight?

“Not eat…as much,” Tepper said. “I eat, but I don’t eat as much. Portion contorl. I was a big steak guy. I’m more of a chicken guy now.”

Is he hungry? “Always.”

The decreased weight has improved Tepper’s movement. You can tell just by watching him in sprints, where he’s been motoring down the field better than any offensive linemen.

“I came in (to camp) with a little hamstring injury. I feel like I could have maybe ran with those speed guys, maybe DeSean (Jackson) to the 100.”

There is a lot of talk about how much a difference it will make that Cal has Tennessee at home this time around. No, Memorial Stadium can’t pack in over 100,000 fans like Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, but the Bears are counting on having a decided home-field advantage Saturday.

Coach Jeff Tedford made a point at Tuesday’s media luncheon to implore Cal fans to do their part against the Volunteers.

“I’d like to challenge our fans right now to make it the same environment we faced last year at Tennessee,” he said. “Our fans have done that. They’ve always answered the bell when you’ve asked them to step up. We need that this year. We need to make sure that we make it difficult on them when they’re on offense.”

The game essentially a sellout, although earlier in the week Cal made a limited amount of single-game tickets available. Those tickets came from a group of potential season-tickets that weren’t purchased.

Well, today was the first media luncheon of the season and you can tell that there is tons of interest in Saturday’s game. There must have been up to 20 media members present, including a reporter from the Knoxville News Sentinel who is out here doing stories on Cal leading up to the game. ESPN’s Lisa Salters also is in town.

Jeff Tedford touched on several subjects, and I will provide many excerpts from his comments as the week goes on, as well as interpretations and insights. Personally, I have spent the past couple of days working hard on material for our season-preview package, which begins Wednesday with more of the national stuff — top 25, Heisman hopefuls, national notebook, etc. On Thursday, we will have a Cal season-preview and a Pac-10 preview. Friday and Saturday will be devoted more to the game itself.

Mike Tepper, Thomas DeCoud, Anthony Felder, Justin Forsett, Lavelle Hawkins and Zack Follett all came by the luncheon, and again, I will have much from what they had to say as the week goes on. The prevailing theme, obviously, was that the Bears would like to redeem themselves for their performance last year in Knoxville. Hawkins talked about a 10-minute highlight clip Tedford put together that strung together all the mistakes and poor plays the team made against the Vols last year. He showed it to the team just before the beginning of spring practice.

Some of the players also talked about the need to be more physical with Tennessee, and much of the intense focus on building up strength over the summer was done with the Vols in mind. Tennessee won the battle of the trenches last season, and the Bears need to change that.

Speaking of Tepper, who will start at right tackle, he’s someone Tedford repeatedly praised during training camp. Tepper has dropped about 25 pounds since last season and is moving well. Tepper said he notices the change in his movement, and it’s allowed him to perform better in pass protection. He said having less body mass actually could hinder his run blocking, but he said he’s more muscular so that should help.

Of course, a lot of the discourse also focused on Syd’Quan Thompson, who was beaten twice by former Tennessee star Robert Meachem for long touchdowns last year. Teammates say Thompson is as determined as ever to make up for last season’s poor showing. I will have a feature on Syd’Quan in Friday’s paper.

One of the things my story will examine is how the Bears can make sure they don’t get put in that position again. Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory has said that he should take the blame for those plays because he didn’t put Syd’Quan in a good position. Not only was Thompson playing in his first college game in a hostile environment against one of the top receivers in the nation, but he was asked to defend Meachem one-on-one, “on an island.” DeCoud said today that was simply a product of the team’s defensive scheme, but they may try to do things a bit differently. Yes, Thompson probably shouldn’t have gambled on those two big plays to Meachem, but he also didn’t get much support defensively. Meachem was allowed to simply streak up the field after getting by him.

I have a lot of notes to go through and will provide all of you with as much as possible leading up to the game. I’m really looking forward to finally playing a game!

No, I haven’t forgot about my team-by-team updates from Pac-10 media day. UCLA obviously had to answer a lot of questions about expectations. The Bruins have 10 starters back on both sides of the ball, and had a lot of momentum going near the end of last season before getting thumped by Florida State in the Emerald Bowl.

It’s interesting how everyone has UCLA ranked in the top 15 or top 20. Let’s not forget the Bruins were only 7-6 last season. Their three-game win streak near the end of the season, which included their upset of USC, is likely what has prognosticators penciling them in for second or third place in the Pac-10.

“That was a great win for us and does a lot for our program,” UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis said of the USC victory. “They were supposedly on their way to the national championship. It does a lot for your confidence. We know we are able to beat some of the best teams in the country. But it doesn’t mean we are going to get arrogant or complacent or anything like that.”

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell, who may be looking for work after the season if the Bruins don’t produce, said the thing that encourages his most about the upcoming season is the experience the team has at quarterback. Ben Olson returns as starter, and Pat Cowan, his backup, started eight games last season after Olson went down with a knee injury.

“We really emphasize giving our quarterbacks a lot of information to handle, and we’re very fortunate that we feel we can do that given that Ben Olson is a returning starter and Pat Cowan is a returning starter in a backup position,” Dorrell said. “Both have extensive playing experience and can handle game planning and the process of what it takes. I feel these guys are ready for that type of challenge.”

It was just two years ago that Oregon went 10-2 and was ranked in the top ten near the end of the season. But an utter collapse late last season has some people in Eugene grumbling about Mike Bellotti, who has navigated the Ducks through their finest 12-year run in school history.

Oregon was 7-2 after beating Washington on Nov. 4 last season and ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press top 25. But the Ducks proceeded to lose their final four games, by an average of 21 points, including a 38-8 setback to BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Then, instead of staying in Eugene to work out with the team during the summer, starting quarterback Dennis Dixon elected to play minor league baseball for the Atlanta Braves.

Dixon is back as the Oregon opened fall camp earlier this week, and the Ducks seem eager to erase the memory of last season’s late-season failures.

“The team is hungry after going out like we did,” tailback Jonathan Stewart said. “We’re ready to get the bad taste out of our mouths. This year is about going out and being hungrier than the other team. I think that’s what was lacking last year.”

Oregon definitely has talent, led by Stewart, who is one of the top returning running backs in the conference and is a dynamic kick returner.

“We’re as excited about this season as we were disappointed by the end of last season,” Bellotti said. “We’re excited as we’ve ever been simply because when you don’t put your best foot forward, you’re really looking for that next chance to play football.”

The thing that struck me the most about Arizona State’s time at the podium during Pac-10 media day was new coach Dennis Erickson. I had never dealt with him before professionally. I only saw what everybody else saw through television sound bites. He always struck me as being dull and boring.

Not so. Maybe he’s just more comfortable in college, but Erickson actually has a engaging and witty personality. His college accomplishments speak for itself, although there always were rumblings that everything he did at Miami and Oregon State weren’t always on the up and up. But if his personality was as likable as it was at media day, that can only further enhance his recruiting efforts.

A few samples from his press conference:

“We just got our press guide. I started reading my bio and it started reading like an obituary.”

“I know two fight songs in the Pac-10. I have to learn my third” (Erickson also coached at Washington State)

When center Mike Pollack was asked about his reaction to playing for Erickson, he gave a glowing response. That prompted Erickson to say “Good answer.”

It remains to be seen if Erickson can make the Sun Devils a player on the national scene. Erickson believes all the pieces are in place to do just that.

“We’ve got a great university, a great town, great stadium, great fans and obviously the weather is very good. So we have an opportunity to recruit the very best athletes in the country,” Erickson said. “Do I think it can happen? Without question, or I wouldn’t have taken the job. It’s going to get done.”

Erickson also said he expects big things from quarterback Rudy Carpenter, who showed great promise as a freshman but had an inconsistent 2006. Erickson said Carpenter put too much pressure on himself after former coach Dirk Koetter’s controversial decision before last season to name him the starter two days after tabbing Sam Keller as the No. 1 guy.

“I don’t know what happened last year. It was very unfortunate,” Erickson said. “All the things that went on last year, there was added pressure, no question. He’s a different guy now.”

What struck me most about Arizona’s time at the podium at Pac-10 media day was coach Mike Stoops repeatedly lamenting the inconsistency and lack of maturity in his program. Stoops didn’t say it as though he was taking the blame for it, but who else would be responsible for such shortcomings?

One of a coach’s primary duties is to achieve consistency. If a team continues to make the same mistakes, that’s coaching. If a team fails to maintain its level of focus, no matter the opponent or situation, that’s coaching. In general, if a team’s performance of level has its ups and downs instead of a measure of steadiness, that’s coaching.

“There’s a lack of consistency in our program,” Stoops said. “When you look at the fluctuation in the way we play, what are you going to get? We can’t have those lulls and accept some of the things we’ve accepted in the past of ourselves. It shows a lack of maturity and consistency in our program. It’s something that we have to overcome.”

It was hard to tell if Stoops was blaming it on his players or perhaps some arbitrary force at work, but if it happens again this season, Stoops may be looking for another job.

The Wildcats went 6-6 last season. They lost at home to Washington and Oregon State. They also won on the road at Washington State and Oregon. And, of course, as we all know, they beat Cal at home.

Arizona has 10 starters back on defense and nine on offense, and Stoops seemed encouraged his program could take the next step this season. One major change is with the offense, as Stoops brought in new offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, architect of Texas Tech’s potent spread offense. The Wildcats had one of the better defenses in the conference last season but ranked ninth in total offense and scoring offense.

Cal opens its Pac-10 season against Arizona at home on Sept. 22. A marquee matchup in that game will be Cal wide receiver against Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason. Both players are preseason All-Americas.

Cason is a potential NFL first-round draft pick who decided to return for his senior season rather than entering the pro ranks this year.

“The decision was tough for me,” Cason said. “I felt like I was two semesters out of graduating college. I always said to myself that you can’t duplicate the college experience. There’s nothing like being around the guys in the locker room and on the field. You can’t trade that for anything.”

Cason recounted a funny story about his recruitment. When Stoops was still at Oklahoma as the defensive coordinator, he came to Los Alamitos High School in Southern California to recruit Randy Estes, regarded as the top safety prospect in the country. As he watched who he thought was Estes, he told Los Alamitos coach John Barnes that he thought he looked great. Barnes told Stoops that it was Cason, not Estes.

Stoops was later hired at Arizona and brought Cason on board.

“I still ask him to this day why he didn’t recruit me at Oklahoma,” Cason said.

“I’m glad we didn’t,” Stoops says.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford confirmed that he was going to take a look at DeSean Jackson returning kickoffs this season.

Jackson was a first team All-American as a punt returner last season and is a top Heisman candidate this year as a wide receiver/punt returner. With the new rule in place this season moving kickoffs back five yards, Tedford may not be able to resist getting Jackson on the field in that capacity as well, especially considering opponents likely will do whatever they can to keep the ball out of Jackson’s hands on punts.

“We’re going to take a look at it,” Tedford said. “With the kickoffs being moved back five yards, there is going to be a lot more returned balls. We’ll give it a shot and see how he looks back there doing it. You have to let him play. We’re not going to play scared.”