Washington State Football: 3 takeaways from upset loss at Cal
By Zach Bigalke
1. Cal is poised to play spoiler in the Pac-12 North over next two months
Cal is having a roller-coaster season under first-year head coach Justin Wilcox. The Golden Bears started the year 3-0 with a trio of non-conference victories that included wins over North Carolina and Ole Miss. Then the Pac-12 schedule began, and it was like all the energy drained away from what originally seemed like a resurgent Cal program.
Against USC, Oregon, and Washington, the Golden Bears lost three straight to tumble to the bottom of the Pac-12 North alongside Oregon State. After this monumental upset of the Cougars, though, Cal needs just two more wins to get back to bowl eligibility.
Over the next two weeks, they can reach bowl eligibility before November even hits. All they need to do is take down Arizona next week at home and Colorado three days before Halloween in Boulder. Even if they only go 1-1, Oregon State opens up November. Everything else will be a boon for a new coaching staff looking to install a winning mentality out of the gate.
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The last two games of the year both take place on the road for the Golden Bears. Cal plays annual rivalry games against Stanford and UCLA, the first across the Bay Bridge and down the Peninsula in Palo Alto and the latter a trip downstate to Pasadena. They could get to seven, eight, or even nine wins if they pull off another upset or two at the end of the year to thwart rivals’ ambitions.