What? Did you think they were all going to be Grambling States? The Cal Bears faced a little bit of resistance this week, but were able to pull away in the second half from a pretty good San Diego State team en route to a 35-7 victory.
The defense did a solid job containing Donnel Pumphrey -- one of the least appreciated backs in the country -- to 76 yards on 21 carries and no touchdowns. Offensively, Jared Goff completed 17 of 24 passes for 321 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
What the win means for Cal: The confidence is growing -- particularly on defense where for the second week in a row the unit created turnovers and pressure in the backfield. They have to head on the road next week to a hostile environment against Texas. But this should qualify as a quality win as Cal takes another step towards returning to the postseason. The offense is what we thought it would be and the defense (more on them below) has probably exceeded expectations after two games.
What the loss means for San Diego State: Probably not a ton. This is still a pretty good Group of 5 team that was picked to win the Mountain West. Fact is, the Aztecs won't see a quarterback like Goff or a cast of wide receivers like Cal has for the rest of the season. This is still a group that should contend for the Mountain West and no reason to think coach Rocky Long won't send them to a bowl game for the sixth straight season.
The game turned when: Things weren't so black-and-white when the teams were coming out of the locker room at halftime. Cal only had a 14-7 advantage but was getting the ball. The Bears made the most of it. On the first play, Goff connected with Trevor Davis for a 75-yard touchdown. Any hope of an upset seemed fizzle for the Aztecs as the Bears continued to pull away.
Player(s) of the game: I'm cheating by going with a whole unit. But I think it's deserved. Cal's defense -- which took more guff than almost any other unit last year (which was totally deserved, by the way) -- looks to be very improved. We heard it all offseason, but against a pretty good Group of 5 team, we saw it. They contained Pumphrey, hauled in a pair of interceptions and had six tackles for a loss to go with a pair of sacks.