The bye week is almost over. Players have had a week to rest and recuperate from the hard-fought skirmish against the Wildcats from Snyderville (aka Manhattan, Kansas).
The men in red gained ground (even though they had a mere 105 yards rushing) and broke in a new leader (Ryan Burns was quite efficient in his debut), but losses were taken (Harrison Phillips doubtful for USC game) and positive offensive gains became negligible in the second half (save for one big run by Christian McCaffrey).
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it does.
The Cardinal has a front-loaded schedule this year, and it's going to test every ounce of their mettle to survive this brutal stretch: USC, UCLA, Washington, Washington State and Notre Dame.