Cal to face five top 25 teams, nine top 40 teams in 2016

If Cal is going to return to a bowl game in 2016, the road will not be easy. The Bears will face nine teams that received votes in the AP and Coaches Poll, five of whom were ranked in the top 25.

All of Cal’s six home games will be against teams that received top 25 votes. Five of Cal’s final six opponents are top 25 teams.

Let’s take a look at our difficult schedule.

• September 10th, at San Diego State (31st in AP, 37th in Coaches)
• September 17th, Texas (36th in AP, 32nd in Coaches)
• October 1st, Utah (28th in AP and Coaches)
• Friday, October 21st, Oregon (24th in AP, 22nd in Coaches)
• Thursday, October 27th, at USC (20th in AP, 17th in Coaches)
• November 5th, Washington (14th in AP, 18th in Coaches)
• November 12th, at Washington State (29th in AP, 30th in Coaches)
• November 19th, Stanford (8th in AP, 7th in Coaches)
• November 26th, UCLA (16th in AP, 24th in Coaches)

Only Hawaii, Arizona State and Oregon State did not receive any top 25 credit.

Cal fans, looking at their schedule, what games do you believe will provide a path to a bowl game?