ESPN: Cal has the ninth toughest three-week stretch: USC, at Oregon, at Washington

The college football schedule-makers were pretty cruel to the California Golden Bears. Cal has potentially the toughest schedule in college football this season, which is defined by some of the most brutal stretches you can possibly find.

ESPN defines Cal’s toughest stretch at the end of September and the start of October:

• September 23rd: USC Trojans. Cal has not beaten USC since 2003.
• September 30th: at Oregon Ducks. Cal has won once in Oregon since 1987 (the famed 2007 Cal-Oregon matchup. Hail Marcus Ezeff!).
• October 7th: at Washington Huskies. Cal has lost seven of their last eight meetings with Washington.

It goes without saying that each of those games is tough on their own. Placing them all back-to-back feels particularly impossible.

And this is bookended by a September 16th home matchup with Ole Miss, and a Friday night home contest with the Washington State Cougars. That five-week stretch sounds like the most difficult in college football, period.