The hardest game of the season is often the one in which reality comes crashing down on your hopes.
Sometimes, you know it’s coming and you do your best to brace for impact. Sometimes blind optimism makes that first gut punch all the more painful.
Your head knew that this season was much more likely to be about achieving bowl eligibility rather than dark horse Pac-12 North contention. But your heart knew that an upset over Oregon would raise the specter of relevance. The heart wins that battle much of the time, to the great chagrin of your head.