By George Devine, Sr.

Coming out of Cal’s 55-14 rout of Sacramento State last Saturday (September 6), local sports pundit Steve Kroner said to me, “You can’t win ’em all….until you win the first two!” That sums it up well, since the Golden Bears now have a confidence that hasn’t been present in a long time. They now have wins over Northwestern and the Hornets, and a week off as they look towards their next game — and first Pac-12 opponent — at Arizona on September 20.

Given his golden arm, it is no surprise that Jared Goff would complete 17 of 22 passes, resulting in 4 TDs. What is perhaps more significant is that his backup, Luke Rubenzer, completed a touchdown pass after experiencing the disappointment of being intercepted in the previous Saturday’s win at Northwestern. It was also a good day for RB Daniel Lasco, who went 94 yards on 9 carries.

One key to the game, which will be essential for the rest of the season, is an offensive line which is superior to last year’s, giving Goff and Rubenzer enough time to select and find their receivers, and allowing the running backs to break through the defensive lines on their way to racking up yards.

The remaining games in the season are:

9/20 @ Arizona

9/27 Colorado

10/4 @ Washington State

10/11 Washington

10/18 UCLA

10/24 Oregon (at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, 7 p.m. PT)

11/1 @ Oregon State

11/13 @ USC, 6 pm PT

11/22 Stanford

11/29 BYU

Except for the Oregon and USC games, all kickoff times are TBA.