Cal Football Reigns at the Rose Bowl as the Pac 12 Bows into the Night

Winning the last ever Pac 12 regular season game at the Rose Bowl, just as we all drew it up

Jaydn Ott’s KR return TD via @calfootball on twitter

Just when you think you’re out, the California Golden Bears reel you right back in. A 3-6 team that was free falling in a bottomless pit after a massacre in Eugene has resurrected itself, and the fanbase along with it. Two straight weeks of Cal fans marking Bear Territory on the road, three straight weeks of wins, and a new lease on life as the Bears will be in a bowl game.

Who would’ve thought that this team would be here after all they’ve been through. Quarterback battles, special teams miscues, and costly turnovers in close games continually miffed the coaches and fandom alike.

Simply put, Fernando Mendoza, Jaydn Ott, Jeremiah Hunter, Cade Uluave, and David Reese among others would not be denied. When the Bears backs were against the wall, they scratched and clawed regardless of who believed in them. They didn’t care about the noise, they were still on business.

In an ever fitting conclusion to the Pac 12 as we know it, the Bear did not quit and it did not die, when it had every right to do so. I cannot ever reasonably doubt the buy in Justin Wilcox has from his players, coaches, and staff. These people love him and want nothing more to go to battle with him on a consistent basis.

“When things aren’t going well, coming off a really bad loss, its human nature for folks to seek shelter in the storm and I didn’t see anybody do that” - Justin Wilcox

Mendoza battled constantly throughout the night against UCLA, overcoming two bad interceptions with two rifles to Hunter, each score more critical than the last. Ott, ripping the seal off and taking the kick return to the house along with churning hard earned yards with Justin Williams-Thomas. Jack Endries holding his own in trying to block Laiatu Latu, who will assuredly go in the first round of the NFL draft, give that man his flowers for his development.

For David Reese and Xavier Carlton, who said to hell with the criticism of the much maligned defensive line and put Dante Moore into submission. And even then, Cade Uluave continues to burst on the scene and steal the show. Sacks, an interception, TFL’s that resulted in turnovers on downs, he’s wrestled away any doubt about who should lineup alongside Kaleb Elarms-Orr next year at inside linebacker.

Lastly, a bow for the special teams unit that has risen from the ashes in recent weeks from the Auburn and Oregon State games. Capped off with a thunderous hit/forced fumble from Hunter Barth and following it up by an all too riveting Michael Luckhurst recovery after all he’s been through this year. Mateen Bhaghani’s four field goals that provided a necessary stability against an elite defense, and a poise that rounded into form over the course of the season. Even Lachlan Wilson, who punted and crucially flipped the field multiple times that led to UCLA turnovers, namely a booming 73 yard punt that set the Bruins back further than their football program’s move to the Big 10.

Vic So’oto, take a bow for now, you’ve earned this one.

All Cal fans want is the execution to consistently come along with the ride. After firing blanks against Auburn and USC, the mad dash against Washington State, Stanford, and UCLA provided all the theatrics that Bears fans persistently want year in and year out. Rushing the field, beating up on a traitor of a rival, and surviving cardiac arrest against a lifetime chaos partner have had the fandom on every end of the euphoric spectrum this month, and the train is still rumbling out of the station.

As the Pac 12 era winds down, there comes a time where you consider every battle you’ve been apart of. From all the Tucson horrors, to the adrenaline inducing upsets of Washington State, USC, and Washington, and the ones that got away in the Big Game, being a member of the Pac was its own set of mini proxy wars for your California Golden Bears. It was a maddening, illogical, and downright turbulent experience.

But it was our maddening, illogical, and turbulent experience. I will never forgive Larry Scott, George Kliavkoff, ESPN, and Fox for ripping this conference to shreds in the name of the almighty dollar, leaving programs like Oregon State and Washington State in an area of anticipated peril. All the history, cinematic experiences, and wretched officiating moments, gone in a Thanos style snap.

In case you didn’t have the opportunity to view it, the Pac 12 aired its own obituary. No network will ever be able to tell the stories of these teams from Bay to LA or the Palouse better than Ted Robinson, Yogi Roth, Shane Vereen, Ashley Adamson, and the rest of the Pac 12 network crew.

When Cal eventually makes it to a Rose Bowl (and you can bet I’m speaking that into existence), regardless of its conference affiliation it’s going to feel different. There won’t be the classic Pac 12 vs Big 10 matchup right as we flip the calendar into the new year. The game will happen, we will cheer until our voices can’t go anymore, and hope that the Bears have that national mojo back.

And yet, the Pac 8/10/12 will still feel like home. That was, is, and forever will be Cal’s conference, regardless of whatever further college football realignment comes forth.

But that’s for another time. It’s apparent that we relish in this moment together, knowing that these iteration of the Golden Bears stood tall at the Rose Bowl as the lights went out for the final time, just as we drew it up.