Cal vs. Texas positives: Jared Goff sensational, run game steps up for Daniel Lasco

What are the positives to take from Cal-Texas? What makes you more confident in this team going forward?

LeonPowe: Goff to his wideouts is still money. Yeah, Anderson had that drop. But I will take Goff to Anderson . . .or Lawler. . . or Harris. . . or Powe . .. or Treggs in any situation still.

Running backs - with the big fumble on the goal line aside - ran well. I did feel that we really could have used Lasco to grind out those 4th quarter yards.

Offensive line felt like it improved - barely heard from Malik Jefferson.

There was some adjustments to shut down the wheel route after getting burned on it so often. But then we started giving up the out and the Heard runs. Like trying to plus a leaking dam.
Penalties felt like they were at a minimum.

Vincent S: When Lasco was ruled out, I was sure we were going to struggle to establish a run game. Texas may not have experienced senior lineman, but they do have athletic specimens patrolling the lines and our O-line was going to have its hands full. I was pleasantly surprised by our effectiveness. Khalfani finally showcased the speed we'd all been heard about on his long TD run, and there were several instances where Vic had originally been stopped, but pushed defenders forward for a few more yards. I think if we have Lasco to run the clock out in the 4th, or if Khalfani doesn't fumble on the goal line, that we walk away with a comfortable victory.

KWBears: Our running game is pretty solid.  With Lasco out, we needed other guys to step-up in an ultra-hostile environment - and they did.  As long as we can keep establishing the run, defenses will have to pay attention to our RBs and Goff.  This is great for our Bear Raid.

Ruey Yen: Bears faced some adversity in a tough road environment in the first half - the two fumbles that lead to 10 points and a missed field goal, but managed to fight back before the half. With under 2 minutes to go before the half, the Bears was able to tie things up (even the Cal D contributed with that interception), which was huge.

Khalfani Muhammad's play was also very encouraging although it would be great (obviously) to have Lasco back. Muhammad finally showcased some of his explosive (maybe that's the wrong word to use to describe a guy with Khalfani's last name in the state of Texas?) speed that we have all been waiting for given how he is also a Cal sprinter.

Avinash: Cal went into Texas and beat Texas. Say those words out loud, imagine saying those words about a year and a half ago, and feel a wide smile break out across your face. No longer will you have to be dragged into a yoga session to find inner peace.

It doesn't really matter if Texas goes 3-9 or 8-4. That is a big win for this program and for Sonny Dykes. To go into a stadium of 80,000+ hostile fans and pull out a victory like that was enormous. This team isn't going to be intimidated by Autzen or Husky Stadium or Rice Eccles. We won on the road last year, but Northwestern, Oregon State and Washington State don't exactly intimidate the heart. Cal is ready to execute at a high level in any environment.

Ruey Yen: Yeah, it was a huge win for the program to beat Texas at Texas, like Avi had said. The last Cal athletics team to do something similar in scope may be Men's Basketball beating Syracuse at Madison Square Garden last year. Of course, Syracuse ended up being terrible and our Bears (who lost the following day to Texas...a team that fired their head coach at the end of the season, by the way) ended up not in any kind of postseason. That still does not diminish the fact that we were able to finally beat Syracuse and at their 2nd home court too.

Hopefully the 2015 Cal Football does have a better fate than the 2014-15 Cal Men's Basketball after such a statement win.

Sam Fielder: For a stretch of that game, during the 31-0 run, Cal looked absolutely dominant like they could compete with anyone. That's a huge positive and definitely something that coaches can point to as a continual goal to get to. Additionally, the fact that they hung on and actually won this game, crazy ending aside, makes me think that this team believes in themselves and won't completely self-destruct in tough games. That'll be really important as the schedule gets harder moving on. And then of course Jared Goff. He looked every bit Heisman/NFL First Rounder in that game. Showed poise and fire, made all the throws, and basically did everything you wanted him to do. He's amazing. And as long as he's leading the charge, that makes me confident in this team.

Nik Jam: We won the game. We found ways to screw up games like Arizona, UCLA and BYU last season. While we did also pull off Colorado, Wazzu, Oregon St, etc. this game was starting to feel A LOT like the Arizona game. Once the apparent tying touchdown was scored, I fully expected the offense to continue to sputter and we'd lose in OT. The fact that we came away with the win will give the team confidence. We saw how the team played against Colorado after losing to Arizona, let's see if winning an exhausting game like that will make a difference.

ALSO: How about the passing offense for the first three quarters? Amazing stuff. And despite how poor the defense was a lot of the time, they did pull off some clutch turnovers and 4th down stops.

A.W. Johnston: Oh man, that offense. When we are clicking on all cylinders it is hard to picture any defense slowing us down. The back-shoulder fade to Kenny Lawler was a gem to behold. Even more of a pleasant surprise, our run game looks to be incredibly strong and we have a lot of depth behind Lasco. Vic Enwere was already well on his way to being one of my favorite players throughout his recruitment. Add this game and what I hope is left to come, I can't help but be very optimistic.

Keegan Dresow: Cal thrived offensively against a fast and physical defense.