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The second Pac-12 bowl game on the slate is just a couple of hours after the UCLA-Boise State L.A. Bowl kicks off on Saturday.
This bowl is Cal against Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl. Both programs finished with 6-6 records, but Justin Wilcox leading this Golden Bear team to a bowl game is quite surprising. It took a 33-7 blowout of UCLA in the final week for the Bears to become bowl-eligible.
Cal was 3-6 at one point and won three straight against Washington State, Stanford, and UCLA to close things out. The win over the Cougars was their biggest of the season, a 42-39 final.
Running back Jaydn Ott was the star of the show again for Cal this season, rushing for 1,261 yards with 11 scores and averaging 114 yards per game.
Texas Tech was 3-5 entering its 2023 off week. The Red Raiders won three of the last four games to become bowl-eligible, with the one loss coming to Texas on the road in a 57-7 blowout against the Big 12 champions.
Running back Tahj Brooks had 1,443 yards with nine scores. He recently announced his decision to return for one more year in a huge boost for the Red Raiders.
Behren Morton threw for 1,498 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions for Texas Tech. He threw five interceptions combined over the final three games, so that could be an issue for Tech.
The Red Raiders are slight favorites in this game, but Justin Wilcox winning a bowl game at Cal should be more than enough to keep him around in Berkeley for one more year as the Golden Bears head for the ACC.
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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/battle-mid-cal-faces-texas-160313983.html
Author : Trojans Wire
Publish date : 2023-12-15 16:03:13
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