Holiday Bowl 2011: Bold Predictions for Cal vs. Texas Showdown

California and Texas are going to excite fans with a thrilling Holiday Bowl at 8:00 pm EST on December 28. This game is going to be back and forth and close to the end.

Both teams bring 7-5 records into the game and 4-5 records in their conference—Cal in the Pac-12 and Texas in the Big 12.

Here is some of the excitement we can expect.

Texas Will Be Held Under 150 Rushing Yards

Texas moves the sticks by running the football. They rank 19th in the nation in rushing yards at 210.4 yards per game. They will not hit that mark in this game.

California fielded a solid rushing defense all year, and their defense improved as the season progressed. They finished the season allowing just 3.84 yards per carry.

In their second-to-last game of the season, California faced a Stanford rushing attack that put up extremely similar numbers to Texas. The Cardinal had averaged 207.9 yards per game.

California held Stanford to 149 yards at 4.3 yards per carry. These are certainly not dominant numbers, but they are good enough to indicate that the Bears will be able to slow Texas enough to keep them well below their average.

There Will Be Three INTs

Both of these defenses do a good job of picking off opposing QBs. California has 12 interceptions and Texas 11.

The QBs will help the defenses haul in picks. Bears' QB Zach Maynard chucked 11 picks. Meanwhile, Texas' two QBs Case McCoy and David Ash combined to throw 12 picks.

In the big stakes and bright lights of the bowl game, both QBs will become anxious to push the action and force the ball into places they should not think of throwing. This will lead to the plethora of picks.  

Overtime Thriller

These two teams are evenly matched. California's solid rush defense will limit the amount of damage Texas can do on offense, and Texas' well-rounded defense will slow down the balanced Bears' offensive attack.

Texas allows just 3.34 yard per carry and an opponent passer rating of 111.88.

This solid defense will keep the score low and close. The two will end regulation knotted at 17.

In overtime, Cal's experience under center will pay off. Junior QB Maynard will make the plays where sophomore QB Case McCoy cannot, and the Bears will pull off the upset.

Cal wins, 27-23.