(Written by kencraw)

It’s no secret that the Bears have been a disappointment so far this season. As such, the poll on the right side reflects just how lacking we all are in optimism for today’s game.

You won’t find me blowing any smoke up you saying that the Bears are better than they’ve looked nor that they have a good shot at beating Ohio State. I don’t think the Bears have a good shot at it.

However, what I will say is that I think we’re over-estimating how good Ohio State is. Their performance to date has not been all that strong. They haven’t been tested at all. If there’s a reason for a glimmer of hope, this is it.

The problem is that their offensive style is exactly what Cal’s defense has proven most susceptible to. To make matters worse, it appears that Urban Meyer isn’t going to do a massive overhaul of the scheme of Ohio State, so the hopes we had of a team that was still working out the kinks turns out to be unfounded. It also means the scheme doesn’t change to one the Bears have a better shot at defending.

If those things had broke Cal’s way, considering how untested Ohio State is, I might be willing to consider the upset. But they didn’t and so I’m not:

Ohio State: 31, Cal: 17