BY Brian Bainum
PULLMAN, Wash.—Bud “Dog” Turner went up to Marshawn Lynch after Cal’s 21-3 win over Washington State and thanked him. A member of the Bears staff for 36 years, Turner has experienced his share of ups and downs (mainly the latter) with the program. For Turner, Saturday was a big up. Cal won at Martin Stadium for the first time since the Carter administration. “He said they hadn’t won up here since (he was in his 40s),” Lynch said with a chuckle. “There’s no telling how old he is now, so it’s just some great things.” For Lynch and the rest of the Bears, history aside, Saturday was not so much of an up. The game was more like ... blah. It was very unspectacular, similar to the rolling, yellow nothingness of the Palouse.
But a win is a win, as just about every Cal player said afterwards. It is a good sign in and of itself that an 18-point road win against a solid opponent is considered average. With the win, the Bears took care of their biggest potential roadblock before Nov. 18, on the road to Pasadena. That’s right. Let the USC hype and postseason talk officially begin.
It is obvious this season has the potential to be historic for Cal. To make it so, the Bears will need to continue to be seemingly ignorant of history, because with every win from here on out the external pressure will increase. That’s what a 48-year Rose Bowl drought will do. The team has taken a great perspective so far. Many players learned of Cal’s losing streak in Pullman for the first time from coach Jeff Tedford directly before the game.
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