College Football Predictions: California vs. Texas Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Wednesday, 28 December 2011 17:34

The Holiday Bowl between California and Texas is next up for our college football game predictions.

The California Golden Bears (7-5) and the Texas Longhorns (7-5) will meet up in the 2011 Holiday Bowl on Wednesday, and we hope that our preview will produce some winning predictions.  Start time of the California vs. Texas game is set for 8:00 PM ET and you can catch the college football action live on the ESPN channel.

Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California will play host to the Holiday Bowl that started here back in 1978, making the Golden Bears the team that travels far less despite this not being their home stadium.  One edge that Texas will have is the fact they are 3-2 in road games this year while California sits at just 2-4 when away from home.  These two teams are very close in two key categories with the Golden Bears averaging 1.1 more points per game and allowing 1.2 more points per game on the season.

Legends Sportsbook has the Holiday Bowl betting odds favoring California at -3.5 on the point spread to go along with a total of 47.5.  The Golden Bears’ 7-5 record against the spread eclipses the 6-6 mark that Texas has amassed on the year, while both teams have gone under the total more often than over.  Close to 65% of tracked college football bettors are taking the Longhorns here and our predictions will let you know if they are on the correct side.

California’s Offense vs. Texas’ Defense:

The Golden Bears mix the run and the pass well en route to scoring 29.8 points per game while averaging 418.4 yards of total offense.  California needs the run to make their play action passes work effectively and they might struggle in that department against a Texas defense that allows just 103.7 yards per game on the ground.  The Golden Bears have also had issues putting up big points when their opponents are running the ball effectively.  Texas has the ability to do that as well, which could make California’s offense get a bit cold and out of synch on the sidelines during extended drives.  That has been an issue for them this year.

Texas’ Offense vs. California’s Defense:

The Longhorns average 28.7 points per game but they run the ball quite a bit more often than California, who tends to favor the passing game when they need the big play.  Texas isn’t as explosive as the Golden Bears but they don’t need to be as long as they are able to pick up 4-5 yards a carry with their rushing attack.  California has done a good job at defending the run this year, but you also have to figure in the fact that they play in a pass-happy Pac-12 conference where few teams emphasize the ground game.  Teams like Stanford, USC, and Oregon have been able to gash this defense and I could see the Longhorns following suit.

California vs. Texas Predictions:

There are a few reasons to expect a low-scoring game, the first of which is the total being bet down from 48 to 47.5.  Next, I’m suspicious of the fact that the total only opened at 48 when these squads score a combined average of nearly 60 points per contest.  It’s obvious that the odds makers are expecting a defensive effort with the extra time to prepare, but my California vs. Texas predictions still have to be on the over being the bet to make.  These offenses are simply better than their opposing defenses, and nothing leads me to believe either will be able to shut down their opposition.

Bet on the Holiday Bowl between California and Texas at Legends Sportsbook and receive a 25% cash bonus simply for clicking on the link we just provided to get signed up!

California 31

Texas 34