Cal prepares for difficult 1st half

BERKELEY, Calif. — What’s being billed as one of the most promising seasons for California in years, could crash quickly if the Bears can’t navigate a difficult early road.

The 13th-ranked Bears open the season with a morning game played at high altitude against Air Force on Saturday (9 a.m.), followed by a home matchup against New Mexico State before a short week and a Thursday night game at Southern Mississippi in what should be a hot, humid setting.

That’s all before trips to Oregon State and No. 1 Southern California to open the conference schedule. It sure doesn’t look like the ideal schedule for a team trying to end a 46-year Rose Bowl drought.

“Going on the road for four of our first five games is not optimal,” coach Jeff Tedford said Tuesday as he prepares to begin his third season as Cal’s coach. “It is what it is. We’ll make best of it. We’re fulfilling contracts laid out for a long time for us. … We have our challenges the first three weeks no question.”

First up is Air Force on Saturday in a 9 a.m. Pacific kickoff. The Bears try to prepare themselves for the high altitude in Colorado Springs, with a preseason trip to Tahoe, which is also located in the mountains.

“It is a factor,” Tedford said. “We went to practice at 6,200 feet. Not that we’ll get used to the altitude in one day but it just gives them piece of mind that they can recover very quickly in it.”

More difficult than the altitude or the early start can be Air Force’s unconventional style of play. In the pass-happy Pac-10, the Bears don’t encounter many teams that utilize the triple-option offense, which forces defenses to be very disciplined.

The Bears have spent plenty of time this month preparing for Air Force’s running game.

“I would prefer them not being on the schedule to tell you the truth,” Tedford said. “But they are and we have to prepare to go at them.”