Holiday Bowl 2011: Turnovers Cost Cal in 21-10 Loss to Texas

Cal was a team on the rise.

They had won three of their last four regular-season games, with the only loss being a three-point defeat to rival Stanford. They were running the ball better, protecting the ball and had an opportunity to win a major bowl against a major opponent.

While they came ready to play Texas in the Holiday Bowl and looked very strong at times, they turned the ball over five times. Combine that with the fact that they forced zero turnovers, and it's surprising they lost by only 11 points.

"They got their hands on the ball and stripped us and we had some miscues as well," said coach Jeff Tedford. "There's really no explanation for something that we worked on."

Cal lost only eight fumbles all season coming into tonight's game. Against Texas they lost four.

There's never really a good time to turn the ball over, but Cal's turnovers came at some of the most inopportune times.

Their first fumble (second turnover overall) came at their own 22-yard line in the first quarter. They put together a great drive to open the second half, and their second drive looked promising as well until a fumbled exchange gave the ball to the Horns on their own 47.

A third fumble gave the Horns the ball at midfield as the third quarter ended. Three plays later, Texas scored to increase its lead to 11, a deficit Cal could not rally back from.

Even with the turnovers, Cal had a chance.

The Bears took over at the Texas 27-yard line down 14-10 in the third quarter. They promptly committed a personal foul and then were sacked and fumbled. In a matter of seconds the Bears went from being down one at the worst to down 11.

"We had a penalty that set us back," said Tedford. While Tedford acknowledged that penalties were the key, he also stated that they were unable to "establish any running game."

The Bears had averaged 220 yards per game on the ground in their last four. Tonight they rushed for only seven yards on 36 carries. Isi Sofele rushed for 52 yards on 20 carries.

"Texas is one of the top defenses against the run, and they showed that today," said Tedford. "They beat us up front."

Cal's defense was able to hold Texas to 21 points on 255 yards. They stopped Texas on 11 out of 14 third-down conversions. Usually that is good enough to win.

While Cal didn't get the ideal finish to what was a good November, they should not feel too despondent. Many had left the team for dead following a 4-4 start, including a loss to UCLA. They have had enough strong points to build on for 2012.

"You take experiences and you learn from them," said Tedford. "It didn't go our way tonight but it just re-emphasizes the things you need to do to win. So we'll be very motivated to come back."

If the Bears can continue to improve their rushing attack like they did throughout the month of November, the Bears can enjoy a full season of success next year.

Ryne Hodkowski is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.