I've made it into the Bay Area, greeted by beautiful weather, which is expected to stick around for gameday.

It's almost hard to remember that there is another game yet to be played, considering all the coaching news dominating the conversation over a long two weeks since the Apple Cup.

And if the Huskies and/or the Bears feel that way, too, who knows what kind of game might play out.

Cal's slot in the Emerald Bowl seems settled, giving them little to play for but pride. But pride should count before a home crowd on Senior Day.

The Huskies could be inspired to get Willingham and the seniors a win, and just to avoid the infamy of 0-12. Or they might just want this whole nightmare season to be over.

We'll see soon enough.

Here's my preview story and a quick preview:

WASHINGTON (0-11 OVERALL, 0-9 PAC-10)
CALIFORNIA (7-4, 5-3)
Kickoff: Noon Saturday, Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, Calif.
Television: FSN. Radio: 950-AM.

The series: Washington leads 47-37-4. Cal has won five of the last six, but UW won last season, 37-23, at Husky Stadium. The Golden Bears have won the last two in Berkeley.

What to watch: Both schools played their rivalry game two weeks ago and then took a week off, so the level of intensity – or lack of it – could determine how the game unfolds. … Cal uses a 3-4 base defense to take advantage of its linebacker strength. … Freshman Willie Griffin will start at tailback, backed up by Terrance Dailey. Sophomore Brandon Johnson, who rushed for 121 yards vs. Cal last season, was left home for disciplinary reasons. … UW coach Tyrone Willingham has said he won’t indulge any personal emotions about his final game, but many eyes will be on him.

What’s at stake: Washington is trying to avoid the first winless season in the school’s modern football history. The Huskies also trying to end a 13-game losing streak, which is the longest in school history and longest current streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. … Many Huskies said they would like to send Willingham and the senior class out with a win. … Seventeen Cal seniors will be playing their final home game. … The Bears are likely bound for the Emerald Bowl regardless of their result today.

TNT pick: Cal, 42-10. Who knows? This score could be far better or worse depending how mentally ready to play either team is.

There's a good discussion going on in the comments section of the Steve Sarkisian post below.

My first reaction is that the pick isn't an instant home run in the sense that it will instantly result in long lines at the UW 2009 season ticket counter.

But the real test of the pick will be what the lines look like for UW tickets in 2011 and 2112. There is rebuilding to be endured. The instant turnarounds like Jeff Tedford's at Cal are the exceptions. But I don't believe there is any reason to believe that the UW football program is fatally flaws and there's every reason to believe that the right coach, given reasonable time, can get them back to the level of Rose Bowls in the best seasons and Emerald Bowls in the down seasons.

Sarkisian is unproven, but so is everyone until they prove themselves. He's young. He's new. He knows the Pac-10 and Southern California. And he's learned under LaVell Edwards, Norm Chow and Pete Carroll.

Most of all, he represents change, something the program desperately needs.

But what kind of change?

Here's a bit from those who should know him pretty well: the Southern California newspapers:

Here's the story from the Los Angeles Daily News, which mentions that some USC fans won't mind losing him because they didn't like his play-calling. That shouldn't be too much of a red flag, since some percentage of fans always don't like the play calling.

And here's a little background from the Orange County Register and the LA Times.

Now, I'm off to Berkeley where there's a football game tomorrow.