How much do you enjoy watching Cal football in 2017?

HydroTech: I really REALLY enjoy watching this Cal team. There just seems to be so much life, energy and hope in the players when they play. Even against tough ranked opponents, I have never got the sense that the Cal team felt like it was a game they couldn't win. In fact, every game this season has been very winnable. No game has really gotten wildly out of hand very quickly. Every loss can be attributed to certain mistakes here and there which can be fixed.

boomtho: Ready for my ultra-scientific enjoyment scale? I enjoy watching this team... like, a lot. It's a good reminder, for me, about the power of lessened expectations. Beyond that, though, the defense has been a revelation - I've been at Cal since 2007, and really can't recall a defense this good since the first half of that season. What makes the performance even more remarkable (as has been discussed at length) is that Wilcox and DeRuyter are doing it with the same people that last year's team rolled out.

On top of all that, I love that Wilcox has instilled a mentality that Cal deserves to be in, and win, these games. These guys aren't backing down from anyone (just look at the response after the Oregon game!) and that makes this team incredibly rewarding to root for.

thedozen: It's great that Cal football is exceeding expectations and has been in every home game until late. I remember some criticism regarding how late Sonny Dykes was dismissed, but based on what Justin Wilcox has done so far it's very difficult to fault the decision to hire him. There's certainly some talent here, but without an extremely well-known prospect like Aaron Rodgers it's fun rooting for underdogs. That's true even if the Rodgers era featured seasons with better records.

Avinash: Cal is missing their best wide receiver, their best tight end, their starting running back, their two best defenders on the front seven, and this week they were down their starting offensive tackle.

The last two teams that suffered injuries to top talent like that went a combined 4-20.

Cal is 4-4.

Cal currently has a bottom 30 offense in college football. Cal has led ONCE at halftime this year. Once! Cal has played most likely five of the six best Pac-12 teams on their schedule.

Cal is two wins away from bowl eligibility, and one play away from 5-3.

This is not one of the best Cal teams I've ever watched. But it's the proudest I've been for a team. They come in every week expecting to win. And now so do I.