Justin Wilcox called one final timeout Saturday evening to get sixth-year senior longsnapper Daniel Etter into the USC game for one final Chase Garbers kneeldown, something that may have been lost on those in the stands and definitely lost on those trying to write a recap at 11:09 PM on a Saturday. On a day meant to honor Joe Roth and the senior class, it was one final gesture, on a day full of them, before the chaos of the offseason begins.

Before we look at what's next, there's a handful of things from Saturday to look back at, big and small, that told a story:

- It's relatively clear that Cal could've played a lot better against the shorthanded Trojans, with the Bears missing a handful of tackles with bad pursuit angles. Cal's offense also struggled aside from three possessions, with the Bears not handling USC's late blitz scheme until their final touchdown drive.

- Cal's defense came up big when backed up on their own side of the field, thanks to a number of young players stepping up and two of the Bears' best on defense all year stepping up. The first game changer, Elijah Hicks making the first of his two big plays all evening by putting his helmet on the ball, and Trey Paster, who started in place of Nate Rutchena (another young contributor), returned it for a score.

- Ethan Saunders would make a big stop on a 4th and 2 play from the Cal 3 that USC appeared to botch, snapping the ball to TE Erik Krommenhoek. Saunders, in for the injured JH Tevis, was one of a handful of young defensive linemen to play bigger rep counts against the Trojans, along with Jaedon Roberts, Ricky Correia, and true freshman Derek Wilkins.

- Femi Oladejo would have a couple stops, one forcing a missed field goal try, another true freshman who outplayed his age this year (having turned 18 in September). He and Josh Drayden put a clean hit on Jaxson Dart that took the USC quarterback out of the game.

- Daniel Scott, who walked with the seniors prior to the game, came on a blitz and sacked Miller Moss (a onetime Cal QB target), and popped the ball out. No one realized the ball was still live for a moment, aside from Lu-Magia Hearns, who sprinted, bobbled the ball, and came up with the fumble. Hearns later had a one handed interception called back due to an offsides penalty, as he has outplayed anyone's expectations of him.

- Offensively, Cal went with their senior skill position group, with Kekoa Crawford, Trevon Clark, Nikko Remigio, Collin Moore, Jake Tonges, Chris Brooks, Marcel Dancy, and Chase Garbers all taking the majority of the snaps. Brooks scored twice, Dancy had a key third down conversion on their first touchdown drive, Tonges had Cal's longest pass play of the day, while Clark had four first downs on four receptions. Remigio, who lined up at running back in a couple sets, had an impressive 1st down on a 3rd and 17 screen, while Crawford had a handful of short catches. For Clark, Crawford, Dancy, and Moore, this was their last hurrah. The rest have decisions to make in the coming weeks.

- One final play to highlight is that of Hicks, where he, as member of Cal's hands team, recovered the final onside kick, falling on the ball before it reached the 10 yard mark where USC could hit him. It was one of the smart football plays that Justin Wilcox's team have made in the past, but less so this year. Hicks had arguably been Cal's top defender in 2021, and he's one of the last links to the DB group that revitalized Cal's defense. In addition, students had received emergency grants from Hicks' Intercept Poverty foundation were honored Saturday night.

- In one final small piece, Cal honored Bryce Turner as one of their seniors. Turner, a former walk-on, passed away on January 5th, 2019 after collapsing during a workout back home in Southern California.

This was not the year Cal wanted to have from the beginning. There's plenty of film to assess, as the Bears were maybe a few plays away from seven or eight wins, potentially more. Cal got better as the season went on, which isn't something that has been said about the Bears in recent years, but the lack of a bowl game still stings, especially in Justin Wilcox's fifth year in the program.

Cal moves into a different season of uncertainty. Cal holds the Axe now, as well as a rare win over USC (something that hasn't happened at the same time since 2003), but they're amid the strange state of chaos associated with the month of December. The coaching carousel is whirring, whisking Mario Cristobal back home to Miami, as Wilcox's name has come up once again for the job at his alma mater in Oregon. Wilcox turned down the opportunity to interview there in 2017 after Willie Taggart left for Florida State, and Cal has been relatively stable on that front since.

There's an obvious need for stability right now, with the chaos of the current transfer portal, big coaching departures to and from the Pac-12. The next week and a half will be pivotal.

What's Next

Cal will now do a bunch of in-home visits, spanning the country as they look to close out their class. Director of on-campus recruiting Benji Palu got a waiver to recruit last week while Cal prepared for the USC game, and he hit up a handful of Cal's prospects for in-home visits, including OLB Curlee Thomas and ATH Nick Morrow. Cal currently holds 10 commits in the 2022 class, and that number is going to change depending on how many people Cal looks to bring back. The Bears have been targeting around 15 in this class, give or take a few for a while, but the transfer portal complicates things.

The portal is a place where Cal hasn't done much. Last year, Ray Woodie and Ryan Glover came through the portal to Cal, while Marqez Bimage came to the Bears as a student prior to deciding to play football again. This is an area where Cal needs to improve heading into 2022 and there's already a sense of purpose on that front. Cal has already been tied to Laiatu Latu, brother of current Cal TE Keleki Latu, as long as the older Latu (a one-time four star recruit prior to a medical retirement at Washington, can remain healthy).

Cal will have needs at quarterback, running back, offensive line, and outside linebacker that they'll look to fill in the portal moving forward, though they do have three offensive linemen and two outside linebackers/edge players in their 2022 class right now.

It all depends on who decides to return and who hits the transfer portal. Chigozie Anusiem has already entered from Cal. Odds are he won't be the last Cal entry this winter. Roster reconstruction is an eight month process now, and we're right at the beginning of it.