Cal Football: Bears Will Have to Do Something Unprecedented to Salvage 1-4 Start

Cal began playing football in 1882 and this is just the 17th time the Bears have started a season with a record of 1-4 or worse.

And here’s news no Cal fan wants to hear: In none of the previous 16 seasons did the Bears ever rally to win even four games, much less earn a bowl bid.

This hard reckoning after Saturday’s 21-6 loss to Washington State is not a signal for Cal to close up shop. There is a first time for everything, and the Bears will have to cling to that notion if they hope to create something positive in a season which began with high hopes.

They get a bye on their schedule this week, and it’s hard to imagine the break between games could be timed any better. Before visiting Oregon on Friday, Oct. 15, the Bears need to heal their bodies and their spirits.

Both had to be a little beat up on Saturday night, but quarterback Chase Garbers says coach Justin Wilcox challenged his team afterward.

“What he told us is this one stings, obviously, but these next two weeks we’re really going to find out who we are as a team, who we are people,” Garbers says in the video above. “We’ve got to take a look at ourselves in the mirror. Each and every one of us has got to find something to get better at and help the team win.”

There was no excuse-making from anyone after the WSU defeat, which leaves the Bears still without a victory over an FBS-level opponent. Wilcox acknowledged the team’s shortcomings and took the heat for it.

The three players who gave post-game interviews — Garbers, safety Daniel Scott and center Matthew Cindric — were in unison about the need to play better.

“We’ve got Oregon in two weeks — we’ve got to go and win,” says Scott, who collected his third interception of the season vs. the Cougars. “We’re only worried about wins right now and we didn’t get it done today.”

There were some bright spots for Cal, especially the performances of several young players who got a chance to show what they could do.

Sophomore running back Chris Street, who had just one previous carry in his time at Cal, rushed eight times for 51 yards. Freshman linebacker Nate Rutchena, in his college debut, secured an interception. And fellow freshman linebacker Feme Oladejo saw significant playing time and made four tackles.

The road ahead won’t be easy. Cal likely will be favored to to beat Colorado in Berkeley on Oct. 23 and to win at Arizona on Nov. 6. The Buffaloes and Wildcats are a combined 0-8 against FBS competition, and neither has scored even 20 points in one of those games.

The rest of the schedule is perhaps tougher than expected a month ago. Who saw Oregon State at 4-1 and coming off back-to-back wins over USC and Washington? Or Stanford posting victories over Oregon and USC, the teams picked to win the Pac-12 North and South divisions?

Of course, there are games looming against the L.A. schools as well. First up is Oregon, which Cal hasn’t beaten in Eugene since 2007.

Cindric believes everyone on the roster will use the time before then to make improvements in their game. In his case, as an offensive lineman, that means making sure Garbers does not take four sacks as he did Saturday.

“Personally, I don’t want Chase to ever go down,” Cindric said. “I take that a little bit personally that I didn’t do my job well enough and that’s going to put a little chip on my shoulder these next couple weeks.”

Cover photo of Cal tackling WSU running back Deon McIntosh by Kyle Terada, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo