CAL RISING ON ROSE RADAR.

Byline: SCOTT WOLF  College football

Things couldn't look much better for the Rose Bowl this week, with California moving into fourth place in the Bowl Championship Series rankings.

If USC goes to the Orange Bowl and the Golden Bears win out, the Rose Bowl could select Cal as an at-large team to face potentially undefeated Wisconsin on New Year's Day.

Cal fans would flock to Pasadena for the Bears' first Rose Bowl appearance since 1959. And TV ratings should be impressive with one of the nation's most entertaining offenses.

But there's still a chance the Rose Bowl won't get the game it deserves, depending on the final four weeks of the season.

Here's the nightmare scenario: USC loses to either Oregon State, Arizona or UCLA and ties Cal for the Pac-10 title. The Trojans defeated the Bears, so they would be conference champions and earn the trip to Pasadena.

Cal, on the other hand, might even find itself eligible for the Orange Bowl, the national title game.

That would leave the Rose Bowl with a completely depressed USC, smarting from losing out on the national championship. The Rose Bowl also would be confronted with disappointed Trojans fans, less than thrilled at the prospect of a second consecutive New Year's in Pasadena after dreaming of a Miami vacation the past three months.

Granted, it's not a likely scenario, but you have to look at all possibilities with the Rose Bowl, which seems to lose more than it gains from its BCS affiliation - at least in the eyes of traditionalists.

So far, the Rose Bowl has had only a blowout title game with a dead crowd (Miami-Nebraska) and one of its least attractive matchups in recent years (Washington State-Oklahoma in 2003.)

--NFL mentality: If USC and Cal somehow finish 1-2 in the BCS standings, the game currently would be considered even, according to oddsmakers.

Although the Bears would have a motivational edge, USC coach Pete Carroll wouldn't necessarily be unhappy trying to defeat Cal twice in a season.

Remember, Carroll has spent most of his career in the NFL, where division rivals play each other twice in a season.

--Weak schedule: Anyone who wonders why Wisconsin has doubters needs to look at the schedule. The Badgers own victories over possibly the worst teams in the Pacific-10 Conference (Arizona) and Mountain West Conference (UNLV), and the worst in Division I-A (Central Florida). Those teams are a combined 3-21.

Oh, and Wisconsin doesn't play Michigan.

--Off the radar: Purdue's Kyle Orton just completed one of the worst 14 days for any marquee player, going from Heisman frontrunner to second- string candidate.

Orton was forced to watch the end of Purdue's loss to Northwestern on the sideline after an ineffective performance caused by injuries to both hips. Purdue has suffered three fourth-quarter collapses and, in the process, Orton's season became a disaster.

Even Purdue coach Joe Tiller has lost patience.

``It's one thing to not be at your best physically, but it'sanother thing not to be at your best mentally,'' Tiller said. ``Openreceivers aren't spotted, and we had a number of those. Throws aren'tmade. Things don't take place.''

--Sorry Ralphie: Atlantic Coast Conference officials told Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen the pass-interference call that led to Clemson's winning touchdown on Oct. 23 was incorrect.

--Rivals no more: Former Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill and his wife will be among Penn State coach Joe Paterno's dinner guests following Saturday's game with Northwestern.

Paterno once said that he ``didn't want to leave college football to the Jackie Sherrills of the world,'' a comment he now claims was made in jest. Since then, Paterno's relationship with the former Pitt coach has changed.

``Jackie's a fierce competitor,'' Paterno said. ``Everybody in the coaching business ought to thank Jackie. When he left (Pitt) for Texas A&M, he set a whole different standard for salary.''

--Time to pay: If Cal wants to prevent coach Jeff Tedford from going to Washington, the Bears better find the money for some overdue improvements on facilities. When asked about the Huskies' job, Tedford referenced those improvements, which Cal has not addressed.

``Really, I've made it clear I'm very happy at Cal and hope everything works out here,'' he said. ``I'm looking forward to talking to our people here at the end of the year about my future at Cal.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Barring an upset, quarterback Aaron Rodgers likely will lead Cal to its first Rose Bowl since 1959, perhaps against Wisconsin.

D. Ross Cameron/Associated Press

Box:

(1) FOOT NOTES

By Scott Wolf

(2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Scott Wolf