California will travel farther south than it anticipated to knock helmets with Texas Tech at the 26th Annual Holiday Bowl in San Diego Dec. 30 at 5 p.m.
The Golden Bears were originally slated to be in the Rose Bowl this year, but a last-minute decision by the BCS awarded No. 6 Texas a bid to join No. 13 Michigan in Pasadena, Calif.
Neither No. 4 Cal nor No. 23 Texas Tech have ever appeared in San Diego; in fact, this is the first matchup between these two schools. The Golden Bears walk in with two unfavorable records against them: Their program is 6-7-1 all-time in bowl games, and Pacific-10 Conference teams own only a 3-6 record in the Holiday Bowl. The Big-12 Conference has fared well in the Holiday Bowl at 7-4. Texas Tech is 7-19-1 in bowl game appearances with its last being a win against Navy at the Houston Bowl in 2003.
Cal (10-1 overall, 7-1 Pac-10) overpowered Virginia Tech last season in a 54-49 Insight Bowl shootout, and with a postseason bid this year, it is participating in a bowl game for the second straight season under the command of third-year head coach Jeff Tedford.
“It is an honor for us to be playing in the Holiday Bowl this year,” Tedford, the 2004 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, said. “We know it’s a bowl with great tradition, and we look forward to playing an outstanding Texas Tech team. To spend a week in San Diego is a great reward for our players who had a tremendous season.”
This season, Cal has depended on the rapid-rushing execution of J.J. Arrington. The senior tailback has collected 1,845 yards on the ground this season — a new single-season school record — and averaged a conference-leading 167.7 per game. He has scored 14 touchdowns and averaged seven yards per carry. Arrington is the only running back in the nation to rush for 100 yards or better in all 11 of his contests this season.
The Golden Bears will miss senior wide receiver Geoff McArthur for their final game due to a broken fibula he sustained against Southern Mississippi last week. He is Cal’s all-time career receiving leader with 202 receptions, 57 from this season. McArthur is third in the Pac-10 with 5.18 receptions per game. The Los Angeles native scored seven touchdowns and collected a total of 862 yards through the air this season.
“I’m happy for those guys,” Tedford said of his seniors. “They’ve worked very hard and provided such fine leadership for this team. It’s nice for those players to get recognition as being some of the top performers in the conference.”
As a team, Cal leads the conference in scoring offense (37.3 points per game), rushing offense (260 yards), and total offense (494.7 yards). The Bears’ pass offense has been mediocre, averaging 234.7 yards per game.
Texas Tech (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) will most likely use an
airborne strategy, as it owns the nation’s best pass offense, which averages 388.7 yards per game. Senior quarterback Sonny Cumbie leads the nation in passing with 4,222 yards.
The Red Raiders have outscored opponents 389-283 and have recorded two 70-point games. They are ranked first in the Big 12 and sixth nationally in total offense with 483.5 yards per game. Their second-ranked scoring offense, at 35.4 points per game, trails only Oklahoma (36.1).
Senior wide receiver Trey Haverty leads the conference in receptions per game with 6.27, while teammate Jarrett Hicks was second averaging 6.09. Hicks, a sophomore, leads all Big 12 receivers with 1,108 yards and 11 touchdowns. He averages a conference-best 100.7 reception yards per game.
For the fifth consecutive year, Texas Tech will be participating in a postseason game.
