One of the things the Pac-12 preserved in its new schedule format when they broke up into divisions was that the California schools would always play each other every season. While most teams have to rotate to play Cal and Stanford and UCLA and USC, the four programs continue to play each other every year without fail.

Sonny Dykes didn’t seem too pleased with the arrangement, particularly in its current structure. He had this to say in the Pac-12 teleconference call (Ryan Gorcey with the report).

"I'm going to be honest with you," Cal head coach Sonny Dykes said on the Pac-12 conference call on Tuesday, "it doesn't make any sense at all, to me. The way it was explained to me is that it was done for tradition's sake." ... "I understand that it's tradition that the California schools played each other every year -- I get it -- but if it's done for tradition, then why are we playing UCLA on every day except Saturday?" Dykes said. ... "There's not a whole lot of tradition involved," Dykes said. "I don't really understand it. I don't think it makes any sense at all. If you're going to treat the games differently, then make them traditional day games. You can't talk out of both sides of your mouth."

The Bears and Bruins played on a Thursday night last year, the only time they've played not on a Saturday since the conference expansion. That being said, Cal will play USC on a Thursday this year, and did the same in 2014.

Admittedly, Dykes didn’t seem to outright object to Cal playing USC and UCLA on a regular basis. It’s that the games have been moved to Thursday nights on a regular basis, which is pretty much a blow in the face to any so-called tradition the universities used to justify the rivalries in the first place. Cal played USC in the Coliseum in 2014 on a Thursday night, UCLA in the Rose Bowl in 2015 on a Thursday night, and got blown off the field to start each game and could never really recover.

Stanford has won the Pac-12 three out of the last four years and has only lost twice to the California programs since 2010.

What do you make of this Cal fans? Sound off in the comments.