There are no moral victories in football (but this almost qualifies)...

What a difference a week makes, sort of. The Rammies lost again, 34-28 to Cal, but at least this time it wasn't soul-crushing. We lost by six to the tenth best team in the country. No, that doesn't do anything to end our now nine-game losing streak, but it should give the Rams confidence heading into the remainder of their schedule.

The Rams played Cal almost even for three quarters, before falling apart. Then they came flying back with two touchdowns in 53 seconds, but it was too little, too late.

Here are my pros and cons of the game:

Cons (saving the good news for last, is my motto):

- Turnovers. Three of them. One of them at the goal line. Caleb Hanie has to stop doing this, as he is a senior. It is very hard to beat bad teams when you give up the ball, and it makes an upset damn near impossible.

- Speed. We lack it on defense. DeSean Jackson is really fast, but he looked like he had just activated a Mario Kart star as he raced through our defense. Hopefully he is the only Heisman candidate that the Rams see this year.

- Play-calling. Again, it was pretty conservative in the third quarter, and the Rams didn't go deep at all until the end of the game, where it worked beautifully (on what may have been some Cal replacements, but I don't know for sure).

- Kory Sperry. Hopefully he does the Kyle Bell off-season regiment to comeback just as strong next season.

- Fans. Not even selling-out a game versus a top-ten opponent. Weak. Even more weak, leaving with the game not decided. CSU nearly made an amazing comeback, but you were too busy on a Saturday afternoon to hang around to support your team. Small time.

Pros:

- Kyle Bell, and the line. He put up over a 100 yards for the second straight week. Guess what? That is two more games over the century mark than the Rams got all last year. If CSU can keep running like this, we will have a good season.

- Special teams. They didn't let DeSean Jackson get a big return, which is a huge deal. Plus, another recovered onside kick (this one was planned). Too bad Jason Smith couldn't get that last pooch kick to fall a little shorter.

- Defense. It could have been way worse than the 34 points by Cal, as the Rams offense gave the ball up often, and set the defense up in horrible position. Still, they managed to hold the bigger and faster Cal offense in check enough to keep the Rams in the game. They need to force more turnovers.

- The receiving corp. With Sperry gone, they will have to step up, and they did on Saturday. They consistently got open for Caleb Hanie, and proved they have the speed to make plays down the field. Now, we need our coaching staff to do this more often, especially off play-action fakes.

The final word: The Rams are arguably the best 0-2 team in the country (take that Mee-chigan and Notre Lame), and they definitely won't lose this week, but bye is favored to win by one (I kid).

The bye week is at a good time, as it will give the Rams a chance to heal up a little, and the prepare for a very tricky and talented Houston offense in two weeks. This is a winnable game for the Rams, hopefully they know it.