BERKELEY — The Cal football team, which doesn’t seem to know what kind of season it’s going to have, gets its highest-profile chance yet to make an impression when No. 15 Virginia visits Memorial Stadium for the first time on Saturday afternoon.

If the inclination is to wonder if this is when the Bears (5-3, 2-2 ACC) head south for good with a third loss in four games, there is another side to the story.

Picked to finish just 14th in the ACC, one spot ahead of Cal, the Cavaliers (7-1, 4-0) have won six games in a row for the first time since 2007 and are one of just two teams still unbeaten in the conference. And yet, the Vegas oddsmakers favor them by the modest margin of 4.5 points against the Golden Bears.

Likewise, the ESPN SP+ ratings, a formula that judges how a team might fare go

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