Cheez-It Bowl 2018: Cal vs. TCU, TV Schedule, Time and Odds
If you're looking for a college football bowl game dominated by defense, the Cheez-It Bowl is for you.
Both the California Golden Bears and TCU Horned Frogs approach the game with a defense-first mentality and that will be on display at Chase Field Wednesday night.
Cal won the bowl twice in two of its previous forms, as it came out on top in the 1990 Copper Bowl and 2003 Insight Bowl.
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TCU is also familiar with the second-tier bowl game in the desert, after it lost to Michigan State in 2012 in the then-Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.
Both programs started strong but suffered through losing streaks in the middle of the regular season and then became bowl-eligible with late surges.
Cal racked up its sixth and seventh victories over USC and Colorado, while TCU reached .500 with November triumphs over Baylor and Oklahoma State.
Cheez-It Bowl Information
Date: Wednesday, December 26
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN or ESPN app
Odds (via OddsShark): California -1; Over/Under: 38.5
Preview
Cal and TCU come into the Cheez-It Bowl on different trajectories.
The Golden Bears are back in a postseason contest for the first time since 2015 and for the first time under second-year head coach Justin Wilcox.
Traditionally one of the contenders for the Big 12 title, TCU enters its bowl game with six wins for the second time in three years.
The one thing the Cheez-It Bowl participants have in common is a tenacious defense, which means Wednesday's nightcap is most likely going to be a defensive struggle.
Cal ranks 11th in the FBS in total defense, while the Horned Frogs are 15 spots beneath their Pac-12 foe.
In their seven victories, the Golden Bears held each of their opponents under 23 points, while TCU limited opponents to beneath 20 points in five of its six wins.
The two most talented individuals to watch Wednesday night are Cal running back Patrick Laird and TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor.
Laird has been a workhorse for the Golden Bears on the ground after carrying the ball 216 times for 932 yards, but he's only scored five touchdowns.
In his last regular-season game against Stanford, the senior scampered for 116 yards on 19 carries for his second triple-digit rushing performance of the season.
Reagor is an integral part of TCU's passing offense, and he'll be even more important to the Horned Frogs with Grayson Muehlstein making his third start at quarterback.
The TCU sophomore put together a nice string of performances in the second half of the regular season, when he hauled in 34 passes for 596 yards in his last five games.
Defensively, Cal's Evan Weaver and Jordan Kunaszyk should have their names called a lot by the announcers, as they'll look to crowd the box and keep TCU from developing any consistency on the ground.
From TCU's perspective, its safeties and linebackers will be crucial to success Wednesday, with Arico Evans, Ridwan Issahaku and Garret Wallow the players to watch.
Prediction
Cal 13, TCU 7
The over/under line is low to begin with, but it's not low enough for how little both teams score on a consistent basis.
Expect the defensive stalemate to last deep into the second half, and it could take one touchdown on either end to win.
In the fourth quarter, Laird adds on to a pair of field goals with Cal's lone touchdown, which will be enough to hand the Golden Bears their eighth win of the season.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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