Football success hasn't come easily recently for the California Golden Bears.
Their last 10-win season was in 2006. They've been to one bowl in the past six seasons, a span in which the program is a combined 27-46.
And yet, after last season, there is hope.
In his first season as a head coach Oregon alumnus Justin Wilcox guided Cal to a 5-7 record in which it conjured one top-10 upset and lost several games by single-digit margins. In the bigger picture, it provided a measure of hope that, even if dreams of a division crown still remain Quixotic, the Bears appear better prepared in 2018 to compete against the Pac-12 North and return to the postseason.