Cal coach Jeff Tedford on the Pac-10 parity: “There’s a lot of parity in this conference, there’s no doubt about it. Last year, we had five teams with the same record. It’s very difficult to go through this conference unscathed. You have to bring your A-game every single week.”

Tedford on expectations: “A success is going to the Rose Bowl, that’s what we’re here for. I’m not going to say not going there would be a failure. But it used to be eight wins was good. People were satisfied. We’re the second winningest program in the Pac-10. But that’s not good enough any more.”

Tedford on the Pac-10 East Coast swing: “I was a proponent of it, talked to Larry Scott about it, thought it was a great idea. It was a first-class trip all the way. It was great to give the Pac-10 more exposure on the East Coast.”

Tedford on Pac-10 regaining star power: “There’s quite a bit of star-power in the Pac-10. You look at some of the quarterbacks, and that’s where it starts, but there are a lot of great running backs as well. There is a lot of firepower in the Pac-10.”

Cal linebacker Mike Mohamed on expectations: “I’m aware of all the preseason accolades, but at the same time, my main focus is the team. I want to win the Pac-10, I want to go to the Rose Bowl. I know I need to go out and play like I did last year.”

Mohamed on USC sanctions: “It’s definitely tough for the players, especially when all this is coming down on them who had no part in it at all. I definitely feel for the players.”