2011 Texas Football: Healthy RBs Key to Beating Cal in Holiday Bowl

If the Texas Longhorns have been anything this year, they have been inconsistent. During the Longhorns' victories, they have rushed for 255.7 yards a game, proving to be the factor in 23 of their 37 touchdowns and keeping the ball out of their opponents' hands.

Texas finished the season, however, winning one out of their last four games. A main factor in their losses was the inability to get their top rushers, Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron, running consistently in those games. Both Brown and Bergeron were plagued by injuries during the middle part of the season and didn't see much of the field during the end of the year.

With more than three weeks to prepare for California, who Texas will play in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl in San Diego, CA, it will give the two young running backs a chance to get healthy and be ready for the Bears on Dec. 28. Brown and Bergeron combined for 228 carries and 1,161 yards, averaging 5.1 yards a carry. They also combined for 10 of the team's 23 touchdowns during a mostly limited season.

If the Longhorns can establish the running game as they have during their seven victories this season, it will keep quarterback Zach Maynard and the California offense off the field. Cal finished the season scoring nearly 30 points a game, which ranked No. 48 in the country. Cal's biggest highlight of the season may have come against rival Stanford, where they nearly pulled off the upset, but fell short, 31-28.

Another key player for Texas is quarterback Case McCoy, who through the first three interceptions of his career in one game against rival Baylor. McCoy has been slowly maturing into the type of player his brother, Colt McCoy, was while he played in Austin, but has continued to be inconsistent in key moments of the game.

As long as the running game is consistent and McCoy stays turnover free, the Longhorns defense shouldn't have any trouble fighting off Cal's offense. Texas has showed the ability to win the time of possession battle during the year, which may be the key factor in leaving San Diego with a win.