Cal Football: Oregon Loss Isn't a Killer, but it Shrinks the Margin
Yes, Cal’s 17-7 defeat at No. 13 Oregon represents the largest scoring differential in a game the Bears have played against an FBS opponent all season.
But there’s no escaping the sense that Cal’s margin is shrinking by the day.
The Ducks had scored 133 points the previous three games, but were scoreless in the first half against Cal — the first time that’s happened against any opponent at Autzen Stadium in 15 years.
New starting quarterback Devon Modster threw a first-quarter touchdown pass against a defense that hadn’t allowed a TD in the first half all season.
And the Bears squeezed three turnovers out of a team that had committed just two in its first four games.
All this, and Cal lost.
The Bears were far from perfect on Saturday — the offense featured a tepid running game, special teams misfired on two field goals and the defense couldn’t deliver big stops late as it gradually wore down.
Modster was light years better than he was against Arizona State a week earlier, but he remains a work in progress,
“I love our team. They battle their ass off. They’re competing like crazy,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “We needed to make a couple more plays.”
Just a couple more plays. It seems like this is the way it will be all season for this team. Pretty much as it was in 2018, when eight of their games were decided by 10 points or fewer.
When the Bears were 4-0 two weeks ago and ranked No. 15 in the AP Top-25 poll, who among us thought that signaled smooth sailing the rest of the way?
(If you raised your hand on that, you’ve lost all credibility).
That’s not to say the season is doomed, but while this team is good enough to be in most or every game, it’s not good enough to ever allow you to exhale.
Heck, the Bears led UC Davis by just seven points heading into the fourth quarter and they had you sweating against North Texas.
They also beat Washington and Ole Miss on the road.
Injuries are making the equation tougher still. By the end of the Oregon game, Cal had just one healthy offensive lineman who was projected as a starter during fall camp.
Attrition is showing on the scoreboard, where the Bears have been outscored 34-10 in the second half of their two defeats.
The first of two bye weeks comes at just the right time. Cal needs two more victories to become bowl eligible, and they’d better be tuned in physically and mentally for Oregon State, which was picked last in the Pac-12 North but just scored 48 points against UCLA in the Rose Bowl.
With a victory over the Beavers, Cal would face a remaining schedule that includes road games against Utah, Stanford and UCLA and home dates against Washington State and USC.
I don’t know about you, but I think the Bears can compete with every one of those five teams.
I’m also convinced they could lose they could lose to any of them.
That margin . . . it’s getting so small you can barely see it.
