We have now reached the point of no return. If the Cal Bears keep heading on the course theyve been so far in the Pac-12 race they are destined to make what our friendly flight attendants refer to as a water landing. There is, however, no such thing as a water landing -- a water landing is a CRASH! And thats what faces the sturdy Golden Bears tonight in their second game at their adopted home, AT&T Park.
The good news for Cal is that they are now home for four of the next five weeks -- the bad news is, they are 0-2 in the Pac-12 Conference and are teetering on that fine line between acceptable and unacceptable.
The two road losses in their first couple of conference games fall into the forgivable loss category. They had a chance to win at Washington, but the lack of a power running game reared its ugly head and the Huskies prevailed. Last week at Oregon they had 30 minutes of a high-wire act before plunging headfirst into the quicksand. That is to say, they disappeared.
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Tonight they get the underachieving USC Trojans, who once again have arguably the most talent in the Pac 12 Conference but dont always bring it to the dance. What they do have is a first-round draft choice at quarterback (Matt Barkley) and one of the best wide receivers in America (Robert Woods). The ability of the Bears to contain the latter will go a long way toward deciding the outcome tonight.
Clearly, the Bears will have to raise the level of their game tonight. They dont have a running back who can consistently break a tackle and that has been their Achilles' heel the entire season. It puts the onus on quarterback Zach Maynard, who against less talented opponents than he saw last week, managed the game well enough for the Bears to win, or at the very least, be competitive.
But, when asked to win the game without benefit of a consistent running game against a good team, he came up woefully short. Tonight, he sees another good team and again will be asked to not just manage the game, but also perhaps win it.
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Two factors make this game a not out of the question affair for Cal. The obvious is that its a home game. Coming on the heels of playing in the cauldron that is Autzen Stadium in Eugene, thats a big plus.
The other factor is that USC is not as good as Oregon. That should help a lot. By the same token, the Trojans are capable of playing like one of the nations elite. They just havent yet.
In recent years the Bears have caved in to the USC myth. Theyve been close on occasion but just cant seem to beat the reputation of their hated SoCal cousins. I think the myth-factor is gone. USC is just another good football team now and its up to the Bears to recognize that.
Theyll have to play better tonight, and they may or may not be capable of it. Once again theyre on a high wire, but this time the finishing platform is just as close as the quicksand.
A winning season hinges on the result.
Barry Tompkins is a regular contributor to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Chronicle Live.