By virtue of College of San Mateo’s 40-7 win over Sacramento City College, the Bulldogs recorded their sixth win of the season, thus securing a bowl bid.

That means they can now relax, right? Yes and no.

“You relax for the simple fact you’ll have one more game,” said CSM head coach Larry Owens. “I’m 99 percent sure we’ll have another game.”

That would be a bowl game and since CSM will host a bowl game for the first time in the school’s history, the Bulldogs will be playing at home.

Just because they are bowl-eligible, however, doesn’t mean the season is done. The Bulldogs have one game remaining in the regular season, on the road at Santa Rosa Saturday, and they want to finish the season on a high note.

“We still have a huge game against Santa Rosa. They’re ranked No. 5 (in Northern California),” Owens said. “In one sense, you can relax, but in another sense, you still have one more big game. We can’t be in first place (in the NorCal Conference), so the next best thing is to be in second place in the conference.”

Defense steps up

Early in Saturday’s 40-7 win over Sacramento, the Panthers were in position to at least tie the score at 6 as they faced a first down at the Bulldogs’ 4-yard line.

The Bulldogs were already pumped up after an apparent Sacramento fumble that CSM recovered was overturned, sending Owens into a frenzy. After scorching the officials, he turned his attention to his defense.

His fiery speech paid off as the Bulldog defense stopped the Panthers from scoring.

Sophomore linebacker Gerald Thompson said he had never seen Owens as livid as he was after the non-fumble call. His speech to the defense inspired them to come up with the big stop.

“That was huge for our defense because a lot of people overlook our defense,” Thompson said.

CSM came into the game allowing nearly 400 yards of offense to opposing teams. The goal-line stand paid dividends the rest of the game as the Bulldogs held the Panthers to just 272 yards.

“From a defensive perspective, it set the tone and gave our guys confidence that it would be hard for them to score,” Owens said. “It was a good confidence builder.”

Up next: At Santa Rosa, 1 p.m. Saturday

The Bulldogs (ranked No. 7 in Northern California, No. 14 in the state) face their third consecutive opponent that likes to throw the ball — a lot. City College of San Francisco can get the ball downfield and Sacramento liked to throw the ball underneath, but neither of those teams compare to what Santa Rosa does. The Bear Cubs not only lead the state in passing with 3,657 yards, but they throw the ball 40 to 50 times a game.

“They pass a lot and that’s what we have problems with,” Thompson said.

The CSM defense hopes the Bulldogs’ offense can help out. The best way to stop a potent offense is to keep them off the field. As the state’s best rushing team, CSM has just the offense to do that.

“That’s definitely our job,” said CSM offensive coordinator Bret Pollack. “That type of offense is (based on) precision. That takes plays and that means they have to be on the field.”

Santa Rosa (No. 5, No. 9) completes 63 percent of its passes, but has thrown 20 interceptions. Pollack believes that if the Bulldogs’ offense can keep the ball away, it will put that much more pressure on the Bear Cubs.

“There is an emphasis on controlling the clock,” Pollack said. “We need to limit their plays and keep our stuff going. (We want to make) them have to be more precise than they’re used to.”