Cal has a quarterback phenom and a manageable schedule: GM Ron Rivera’s goal is within reach

All it took was one bounce The ball hit the turf caromed off the right foot of Minnesota s punt returner and Cal pounced on the ball the battle and perhaps its season Three players later the Bears were in the end zone to take control of what became a - win Saturday night Last year they would not have gotten the bounce Or they would not have converted the muff into a touchdown Or they would have scored the touchdown but relinquished the lead late in the encounter in particular gut-wrenching fashion But it feels different this season doesn t it It feels like there s more opportunism to come like the Bears are capable of building on their undefeated start and barging through doors that did not exist a month ago Everything is in front of them after taking down Minnesota including a accomplishment total that would satisfy the man in charge Late in training camp general manager Ron Rivera was appealed to define a profitable season His response Anything that puts us in a solid bowl challenge eight nine wins I think that s what you re looking for Eight or nine wins The Bears haven t won eight games in the regular season since They haven t won more than eight since This squad does not have Marshawn Lynch in the backfield It does not have Cameron Jordan on the defensive line But it does have Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele at quarterback and a first-class brain trust around him Add the stout defense and manageable schedule and presuming the kicking battle does not implode and the Bears have a better chance to clear Rivera s mastery bar than anyone could have imagined a scarce weeks ago What next A trap championship that s what Cal heads to San Diego State this weekend in a slightly vulnerable spot fresh off a stirring domination and facing an opponent with two weeks to prepare The Bears are -point favorites Handle their business by any margin by any means and they will be - for the first time since That s halfway to Rivera s goal without starting ACC play And if you ve been watching the ACC play well it should be abundantly clear that the Bears can win at least four In fact they should win four at minimum But let s start with who they don t play The Bears don t play No Miami No Florida State No Georgia Tech or Clemson We can only conclude the ACC office used the Calgorithm to construct the schedule because the Bears miss the four best teams in the conference Which means they play eight of the worst teams Their schedule begins with a trip to Boston College which just lost to Stanford Then comes a home date with Duke which just lost to Tulane Then the Bears face North Carolina and coach Bill Belichick who lost to TCU but only by points Then comes a trip to Virginia Tech which just lost to Old Dominion by points at home Then comes a visit from Virginia which is a powerhouse in lacrosse The finishing stretch against Louisville Stanford and SMU could be a tad tricky for several reasons but the Bears should win at least one and perhaps two Then again it might not matter by that point at least for securing enough wins to meet Rivera s goal Which is also chancellor Rich Lyons goal presumably Lyons recounted the Hotline last winter that Cal s revenue sports football and men s basketball need to be competitive like so multiple of our other sports He didn t define the ceiling for football coach Justin Wilcox but he set the floor Another six-win regular season in football will be disappointing given how much we are investing Lyons announced We can t keep investing and not deliver in our revenue sports Combine the February comments from Lyons with the August remarks by Rivera and the only conclusion is that another - season could be problematic for Wilcox who s in his ninth season and under contract for two more Then again the Bears could have six wins by the middle of October at the rate they re going The ascent to relevance begins with the freshman quarterback Sagapolutele whose velocity touch and ball placement are the stuff of upperclassmen upperclassmen about to be selected in the NFL Draft But don t discount the impact first-year offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin and senior offensive analyst Nick Rolovich have made on Sagapolutele specifically and the offense generally The Bears are better prepared make smarter adjustments and take optimal advantage of Sagapolutele s skills The totality of coaching on that side of scrimmage is an order-of-magnitude greater than in past years Related Articles Power rankings SEC on top ACC staggers Big overtakes Big Ten Big Ten power rankings Week Ohio State on top as UCLA search begins Big power rankings Week Iowa State Utah Texas Tech on top Pac- power rankings Fresno State on top as Texas State slips CFB DeShaun Foster under fire Deion Sanders CU future Pac- meltdowns Also a slew of transfers have enabled the Bears to patch holes in the depth chart with tailback Kendrick Raphael NC State receiver Jacob De Jesus UNLV edge rusher TJ Bush Liberty and cornerback Hezekiah Masseson Florida International playing prominent roles Oh how the plot has turned Nine months ago Cal fans were panicked over the apparent lack of a quarterback following Fernando Mendoza s departure Five months ago they were apoplectic over a mass exodus into the transfer portal One month ago they were resigned to another season of mediocrity And then Sagapolutele threw his first pass of the season a -yard back-shoulder completion down the left sideline at Oregon State and everything changed They thumped the Beavers whacked Texas Southern and outlasted Minnesota They are undefeated with loads of brainpower on the sideline and a soft schedule ahead If they take care of San Diego State the Bears will be halfway to eight in the middle of September with a slew of winnable games around the bend It certainly feels different in Berkeley Now we ll see if it is different Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - 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