Cal's Win over Arizona State: How Important Was California's Win in the Desert?

If you were a Cal fan watching the final game on Black Friday, chances are you were worried sick about your Golden Bears.

In a hard-fought, gut-wrenching game, California defeated Arizona State, overcoming a sloppy effort on defense to put up 47 points in their 47-38 win.

Now, California's record is 7-5 and their bowl stock is soaring. The defense struggled, but thanks to a balanced attack and great efforts from Isi Sofele and C.J. Anderson, Cal was able to fight past the Sun Devils.

This win means a lot to Cal and their bowl stock. If you thought Cal was going to lose, you probably predicted the Bears to find themselves in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

If you had the Bears winning, then your pick was likely the Sun Bowl. Thanks to Utah's loss to Colorado, Cal gets the advantage over Arizona State and Utah. This should place Cal in the Sun Bowl, which is eager to host the Bears, who have never played in the El Paso game.

Watching Cal's offense sure won't change any of that for the Sun Bowl. Zach Maynard ran for a touchdown and threw for one more, a 74-yard pass to C.J. Anderson.

Anderson scored three times and he and Isi Sofele showed their ability to break tackles and find space to the outside.

As bad as the defense was, they forced four turnovers, one being a huge fumble by Cameron Marshall that swung the game in Cal's favor. The call was reversed to a fumble with Arizona State driving for the lead and Cal went up 47-38 with a field goal.

If UCLA and Washington both lose today and UCLA loses the conference championship, Cal could even find the Alamo Bowl. In Cal's last four games they have gone 3-1, their only loss a nail-biter at sixth-ranked Stanford.

This year Cal beat Fresno State, Colorado, Presbyterian, Utah, Oregon State, Washington State, and Arizona State. While that isn't the most impressive resume, the Golden Bears still overshadow most teams in the conference, as they went 2-4 with a tough road schedule and won six games by nine or more points.

For Pac-12 bowl representatives, if you take that into consideration and compare it with Washington, UCLA, and Utah, the Bears are looking good.

By finishing up the season on a good note and adding to their resume, the Golden Bears can watch happily as Arizona State tries to win the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, while the Bears receive credit and make a top-tier Pac-12 bowl game.

All thanks to one big game down in the desert.