Tomorrow: the Holiday Bowl

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The Holiday Bowl is tomorrow (Thursday), December 28 at 5pm Pacific time on ESPN. This is a big game against a big-time opponent, and hopefully the Bears are ready. On paper, Cal is a more talented team that should have the tangible advantages on the field. However, the Aggies are not a team to be overlooked and it will be a great challenge to defeat them.

I am excited to see how Coach Jeff Tedford has prepared the #20 Bears to face #21 Texas A&M and their option offense with a 275 pound running back. It should be a great match-up to watch but I see the Bears getting it done with a close win. With three (Oregon, ASU, UCLA) out of six Pac-10 teams losing their respective bowl games, it is also imperative for the conference that Cal wins tomorrow.

The Contra Costa Times‘ Jay Heater has some optimistic words about the match-up:

My guess is that Cal’s offense is about to resurface. I think the players are very excited to be facing a traditional college football power and one that just beat Texas. Put DeSean Jackson and Marshawn Lynch in front of the national spotlight, and I would imagine that good things are about to happen. Quarterback Nate Longshore looks confident and happy, and I think he is going to bounce back with a big game.

In a way, the 2006 season is over. This game really is about 2007, even though Cal has some very talented seniors who will be leaving. But this is the lasting image that national press will get of Cal going into next season. Will it be of a team that couldn’t live up to the hype of national title contender, or will it be of a team that fell a little short against USC and went ahead and buried one of the Big 12’s top teams.

Meanwhile, Scouts, Inc.‘s take on the game is similar to predictions posted earlier:

Texas A&M is entering the Holiday Bowl on a high after its win over rival Texas. The Aggies ground game is good enough to chew up the clock and keep Cal’s playmakers on the sideline. A&M does not play very many one-sided games and will present a tough obstacle for a talented Cal team. If the Golden Bears don’t get big plays from their playmakers this game could be the exclamation point on the Aggies fine season. In our opinion, though, the Golden Bears are too balanced and too explosive for the Aggies to keep up in the end. Prediction: Golden Bears 31, Aggies 24