Rule changes

First of all, the two rule changes implemented last year that most coaches (including Coach Tedford) opposed are being eliminated.

• The clock will once again stop on possession changes
• The clock will no longer start when the ball touches the kicker’s foot, but when the receiving team touches the football on kickoffs

These 2006 changes were shortening games by about 14 plays on average, so this is good news. There’s also some new rules:

• Kickoffs will now be from the 30 yard (instead of the 35 yard line)
• Teams will get 10 seconds less after a TV time out
• The playclock may have less time following a stoppage of the game clock (pending)

This should increase the game-changing potency of kickoff returns. Think much fewer touchbacks and many more exciting returns. Here’s an article with more details about the changes.

Transportation for the Tennessee game

Just a heads-up about Bay Area transportation for the Tennessee game: the Bay Bridge will be closed in both directions all of Labor Day weekend (including game day on 9/1).

While this may be a big inconvenience for those planning to drive, they will run BART 24 hours a day for the weekend.

Saturday’s scrimmage and April 14

Cal has an official release about last Saturday’s scrimmage. It includes notes about quite a few of the up-and-coming players. For more details and analysis, Scout has a very nice write-up about the scrimmage as well. Take a look.

Meanwhile, the end of spring practice on April 14 is still open to the public but no longer scheduled as a scrimmage. While disappointing, my guess is that many of the players are worn out or injured.

SI/Rivals: Jackson the #1 WR in CFB

WR DeSean Jackson is on the cover of SI.com’s NCAA Football homepage, taking the #1 spot in their Wide Receiver Power Rankings. Michigan’s Mario Manningham (pictured left) is in the second place spot.

It’s good to see some national publicity for DeSean and the team overall. I think the yellow jerseys are growing on me too.