Cal head coach Justin Wilcox was asked in a radio interview Saturday with Bay Area station KNBR whether there was a silver lining to the Bears not being in a bowl game, with regard to recruiting. His response was something Cal fans have come to expect from him:

"No, to be honest with you. We need to be in bowl games. There is no silver lining to losing, other than the fact that it'll give you a pit in your stomach and you don't want to let it happen again."

Among many other things the Cal team of 2017 could use, it would be the bowl game practices, especially for a team set to return around 17 starters in 2018, but alas, that was not to be, as the Bears lost three games by a combined seven points. The calendar has to turn over before they can get a shot to get rid of that pit, but in the interim, the first finish line is in sight. The players just finished finals for the Fall semester, now the coaches have their final exam, the early signing day on Wednesday.