It won't change the overall disappointment of the season, nor will it quell questions about the trajectory of the program, but Cal's win over rival Stanford in the annual "Big Game" last week -- inside of a packed California Memorial Stadium -- has certainly impacted the collective mood of the Golden Bears.

And the season finale Friday against a No. 17-ranked UCLA team that has suddenly lost back-to-back games is seen as an opportunity to further some of the positive momentum achieved last week.

The Bears (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12) host the Bruins (8-3, 5-3) at 1:30 p.m. PT Friday (on FOX).

"We don't feel great about our record by any teams. We feel we could have played much better football and had a chance to win more games and should have won more games. We didn't get that done, so that's on me and us as a program. Playing UCLA is an awesome opportunity," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. "They're a very good team. We're going to have to play really well to win, but yeah, it would be very meaningful to find a way to win this game. It's going to be a challenge, but our guys are going to be ready to play."

The 27-20 win over Stanford last weekend before an announced crowd of 51,892 also reminded some of the Cal players what is possible for this program if it starts trending in a better direction.

"To see all those fans, to see how packed it was that night, begs the question, why can't we do it more? So hopefully as years [go] on and I come to visit and come back and celebrate with the other alumni and support my younger teammates, hopefully we can continue to pack the house," senior safety Daniel Scott said. "Because once you do it once, why not do it again?"

Said quarterback Jack Plummer: "It was definitely [a] different experience, a very positive one for our teammates. I think we played off the energy that the crowd was giving us. It was awesome. ... Ideally when you win more games more people show up because they want to see a good product, so yeah, I think if we can continue to have success like that more people will show up and it will have a snowball effect for us."

One step at a time.

Cal is going to finish with its third straight losing season, but closing with two straight wins would certainly give the staff something to emphasize and build upon moving forward.

Here were the top five takeaways overall from interviews with the Bears' coaches and players this week ...

Wilcox talked a lot this week about the two staff positions he has to fill -- offensive coordinator and offensive line coach -- without actually revealing much at all, other than that he understands the importance of making those decisions in a timely manner.

"It'll speed up rapidly this weekend and into next week. I don't have a date other than it will be sooner than later," he said. "Timing is an issue, as we know, [with] recruiting and developing your roster. But it's not something that should be hurried or rushed. So I'll be judicious in getting information and that will speed up, as I mentioned, very quickly this weekend."

Wilcox said he has received "significant" interest in the positions.

"We all want certainty and I understand that, but the ultimate goal is to get the very best person. So I'll be thoughtful about timing and decision-making, but also making sure that we get the very best people in the program because that is the most important thing."

As he said initially after firing offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and offensive line coach Angus McClure early last week, he does not want to discuss any details of the search or what he's looking for while the season is still ongoing.

"I have a very clear picture of what we're looking for. I'm not necessarily going to get into that now. There will be a time that we can discuss that here publicly, but I think for the best interest of what we're trying to do as a team this week and for the future, I'm going to hold off on that," he said.

Could this be an opportunity to bring in a new style of offense more in line with where the game is going at the college level?

"That's possible," Wilcox said. "As I mentioned, college football is evolving, we've got to evolve with it. You've got to score points in college football, especially in this league. Listen, we had some really good moments and there's some really good stuff in the offense, but we feel like we can be even better. As we work through this process in the end we can close it up with [another press conference] and talk more about that process when the time is right."

Cal technically has just two scholarship players exhausting their eligibility this season -- Scott and outside linebacker Odua Isibor. Due to the free Covid year in 2020, many others have decisions to make on whether to use their extra year of eligibility or not.

Wilcox said he plans to meet with all of those players soon after the season to discuss their futures.

(Quarterback Jack Plummer again said he hadn't thought about his future, but when pressed he did indicate he didn't think he'd consider transferring again, so it would be about trying to land a shot in the NFL or returning to Cal.)

However the attrition comes in terms of creating space under the 85-scholarship cap, the Bears plan to bring in at least the seven commits they presently have in the 2023 recruiting class and be active in the transfer portal.

"We're going to look at every player that goes into the transfer portal that we think has a chance to help our team, absolutely," Wilcox said. "... We also still really believe in development of high school players. We don't want to lose sight of that. We don't want to become a portal-only recruiting outfit, but I do think it's something that we need to take advantage of and we do think we have a lot to offer a guy whose coming out of the portal here at Cal."

Last offseason, the Bears brought in starting linebacker Jackson Sirmon, starting quarterback Jack Plummer, Isibor, offensive guard Spencer Lovell, offensive tackle TJ Session, outside linebacker Henry Ikahihifo and outside linebacker Xavier Carlton as transfers. All but Ikahihifo played major roles at times, while he still logged 83 defensive snaps.

What is that ideal balance exactly between portal additions and signing freshmen?

"That's one that I think every college program is working through because we still believe in development, we think we can be very attractive for a high school player who's coming here. We want to help develop those players and for them to be here, get an education and finish their time here -- I think there's still, again, a very attractive element for what we can do for them both on and off the field. We also think that the portal can help us," Wilcox said. "There's going to be specific positions and areas of need where we think the portal might be more helpful, and as we work through these conversations in the next 7-10 days that picture will become clear."

One player Wilcox made clear he expects back next season is veteran defensive lineman Brett Johnson, who has now missed two straight seasons due to significant injuries.

"You bet. He's one of the toughest players that I've been around, both physically, mentally and emotionally and I can't wait for Brett to be back out there on the field," Wilcox said.