Justin Wilcox

On paper, it didn’t seem like the game would be close. For moments, Cal’s better days were re-lived during Saturday’s 28-21 loss.

Cal football is coming off a disappointing defeat in the biggest way. How the Bears rebound from one of their toughest days yet may very well define their season.

No, seriously, what is there to do but laugh? All answers are welcome for what remains of the Cal faithful. But any and all proposed solutions are dead ends.

It’s the worst Cal performance in recent history and something needs to change.

Coming off their first Pac-12 loss — and a brutal 9-28 at that — the Bears went to work to prepare for the coming game against Colorado.

Venturing north to the rolling hills of Pullman, Cal football will preach defensive pressure as it looks to minimize the crafty instincts of an NFL-caliber quarterback in the second week of Pac-12 conference play.

With the power to evoke overwhelming jubilation, a college football game is a hiatus from everyday existence for fans. But for the athletes on the gridiron, the game is a microcosm of real life.

The Bears fall short in a rough road match-up against a historic Notre Dame program, but nevertheless the wild ride bestowed hope for a season to come.

It’s by far the Bears’ biggest game of the season and their biggest in several years. Cal has a chance to surprise on a national stage.

In striking opposition to last week’s brutal beginning, the Bears came out firing on all cylinders. With an immediate sack, followed by back-to-back incompletions, Cal came out guns blazing.