Jeff Tedford on the hot seat?

A 27-17 loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils has started the hot seat chatter for California Golden Bears coach Jeff Tedford, who leads a 1-4 California team as the calendar turns to October.

Tedford, who is 80-52 since beginning his his tenure as California's coach in 2002, has seen a sub-.500 record since 2009 break the support he had enjoyed from the California faithful in recent years.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins talked to some of those Golden Bear fans before Saturday's game, and they seemed on edge about Tedford's future.

"I'm the last one off the bus when it comes to (firing) Tedford," a tailgating fan told Jenkins. "But we have to move on. ... If this doesn't turn around, I really think they'll buy him out. I'm predicting that if we finish under .500, he's gone."

At 1-4 and tough showdowns with the Stanford Cardinal, Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers to go among their remaining seven games, Tedford has an uphill battle to fight.