Independence Bowl Preview: Cal Faces Texas Tech Saturday Night

Golden Bears play on the first day of the bowl season and hope to finish with a winning record

Cal spent the past several days in Shreveport, Louisiana, preparing for Saturday night’s Independence Bowl game against Texas Tech. 

But it wasn’t just a vacation for a lot of Cal players, as about 50 Golden Bears players had to take final exams while in Shreveport. Cal’s exam period for the fall semester ended Friday, so Cal’s players should have clear minds for the bowl game.

The important facts of the 2023 Independence Bowl:

CAL (6-6, 4-5 Pac-12) vs. TEXAS TECH (6-6, 5-4 Big 12)

SITE: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana

WHEN: Saturday, 6:15 p.m. Pacific time (8:15 p.m. Central time)

TV: ESPN -- Kevin Connors (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), Marilyn Payne (reporter)

RADIO: 810 AM -- Justin Allegri (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Kevin Danna (Sideline Reporter)

BETTING LINE: Texas Tech is favored by 3.5 points as of Saturday morning. Over/under: 56.5 points.

WEATHER FORECAST: It will be humid, but despite forecasts earlier in the week that called for rain during the game, it is now expected to be sunny in Shreveport on Saturday afternoon and no rain is anticipated Saturday night. The temperature will rise to about 62 degrees Saturday afternoon and drop to about 42 degrees Saturday night, when the humidity will rise to about 87%. The temperature is expected to be about 53 degrees at kickoff.

CAL-TEXAS TECH HISTORY: This will be just the second meeting alltime between Cal and Texas Tech. Texas Tech won the only previous game against Cal in the 2004 Holiday Bowl, when the 23rd-ranked Red Raiders upset No. 4 Cal 45-31 in Aaron Rodgers’ final college game. The Bears were disappointed to be playing in that game after hoping to land a Rose Bowl berth. But some public politicking by Texas coach Mack Brown helped the Longhorns earn a No. 4 rankings in the final BCS standings, giving Texas the Rose Bowl berth, even though Cal was ranked ahead of Texas in both human polls.

In 2016 on Game Day, Rodgers showed he has not forgiven Brown.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Inside linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr, wide receiver Taj Davis, wide receiver Brian Hightower and defensive back Jeremiah Earby are the most significant Golden Bears players who won’t play in the Independence Bowl because they have entered the transfer portal or are skipping the game to prepare for the NFL draft. Backup quarterback Ben Finley and place-kicker Mateen Bhaghani will play in the Independence Bowl even though they have entered the transfer portal. Backup running back Isaiah Ifanse is questionable for the game with an unspecific injury that sidelined him for the final three regular-season games.

TEXAS TECH PLAYER AVAILABILITY: All-Big 12 running back Tahj Brooks announced he will return to Texas Tech in 2024 for his final season of college eligibility and will play in the Independence Bowl. Wide receiver Jerand Bradley (36 receptions, 431 yards, 4 TDs) and wide receiver Myles Price (43 receptions, 410 yards, 5 TDs) have entered the transfer portal and won’t play in the bowl game. Defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings (7.5 tackles or loss) will not play in the bowl game after having arthroscopic knee surgery after the regular season. Defensive end Myles Cope (3.5 sacks) opted out of playing in the bowl game.

CAL STORYLINES:---Cal is playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2019, which is also the last time Cal won a bowl game. The Bears beat Illinois 35-20 in the 2019 Redbox Bowl. This is Cal’s fourth bowl appearance in the past 12 years. Cal has only two bowl victories in the past 14 seasons.

---A Cal win in the Independence Bowl would give the Bears their first winning season since 2019. A loss Saturday would give Cal its fourth straight losing season and its ninth losing season in the past 12 years.

---The Golden Bears won their final three regular-season games and are trying to end a season on a four-game winning streak for the first time since 1993, when Cal won the Alamo Bowl to finish 9-4.

---Cal running back Jaydn Ott has 1,260 rushing yards this season, which is the seventh-best single-season total in Cal history. He needs 63 yards on Saturday to pass Isi Sofele for the No. 6 spot on that list and 97 yards to pass Marshawn Lynch for the fifth-best Cal rushing season. Ott leads the Pac-12 and is seventh in the country in rushing yards per game, at 114.5. Ott was Cal’s only first-team all-Pac-12 selection this year.

---Saturday’s game will be the first in which Mike Bloesch calls the offensive plays for Cal. Bloesch, in first season as Cal’s offensive line coach, was elevated to the Bears’ offensive coordinator position on December 2 after Jake Spavital left to become Baylor’s offensive coordinator.

---Cal redshirt freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza will make his eighth start of the season Saturday. Cal has a 3-4 record with Mendoza as its starting quarterback. It’s unclear whether Mendoza will be Cal’s starting quarterback next season because North Texas quarterback Chandler Rogers recently committed to transferring to Cal after an impressive 2023 season.

--- Cal is averaging 31.6 points per game, which is the best in Justin Wilcox’s seven seasons as the Bears’ head coach. However, Cal’s defense is allowing 32.7 points per game, which is the worst in Wilcox’s seven seasons. The Bears rank 110th of 130 FBS schools in scoring defense this season.

---Click here for Cal's entire bowl history.

TEXAS TECH STORYLINES:

---Texas Tech is playing in a bowl game for the third straight season, and the Red Raiders won the previous two. They defeated Mississippi 42-25 in last year’s Texas Bowl and beat Mississippi State 35-7 in the 2021 Liberty Bowl. The Red Raiders will try to win a bowl game in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002 through 2004 when Mike Leach was the Texas Tech head coach.

---A victory in the Independence Bowl would give Texas Tech its fourth straight winning season. The Red Raiders had five straight losing seasons immediately before that. Joey McGuire is in his third seasons as Texas Tech’s head coach. He has a 14-11 record with the Red Raiders, including 1-0 in bowl games.

---Running back Tahj Brooks is fourth in the country in rushing yards per game (120.2) and fourth in total rushing yards (1,443). Brooks needs 139 rushing yards in the Independence Bowl to finish third on the Texas Tech single-season rushing list.

---Texas Tech beat TCU, Central Florida and Kansas in consecutive games late in the season before losing to Texas 57-7 in the Red Raiders’ regular-season finale.---Texas Tech nearly beat Oregon back on September 9 this season. The Red Raiders led with two minutes left in the fourth quarter but eventually lost 38-30. Tyler Shough was Texas Tech’s quarterback in that game, but he suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game.

---Texas Tech defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter had been Cal’s defensive coordinator under Justin Wilcox from 2017 through 2019, and he was the Bears’ co-defensive coordinator in 2020, which was Peter Sirmon’s first season as Cal’s defensive coordinator.

---The Red Raiders rank 68th in the country in scoring offensive, averaging 26.8 points per game, but they scored no more than 24 points in any of their final three games, and surpassed 24 points only once in their last six games. Texas Tech ranks 55th in the country in rushing offense and 71st in passing offense.

---Texas Tech ranks 69th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 27.0 points per contest. The Red Raiders rank 94th in the country in rushing defense, allowing 167.7 yards per game on the ground. Cal’s strength on offensive is its running game.

--Texas Tech beat writer answers five questions about the Red Raiders—

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Jaydn Ott (rushed for more than 150 yards five times in 2023, 1 kickoff return for a TD); QB Fernando Mendoza (62.4 completion percentage, 13 TDs, 7 interceptions); WR Trond Grizzell (walk-on had 7 catches, 132 yards, 2 TDs vs. Stanford); WR Jeremiah Hunter (8 catches, 101 yards, 2 TDs vs. UCLA in final regular-season game); LB Cade Uluave (Pac-12 freshman defensive player of the year); OLB David Reese (5.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles over final three regular-season games)

TEXAS TECH PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Tahj Brooks (first-team all-Big 12); LB Ben Roberts (100 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles); S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (second-team all-Big 12, 4 interceptions); WR Xavier White (34 receptions, 495 yards, 1 TD); QB Behren Morton (7 starts, 12 TDs, 7 interceptions); WR/KR Drae McCray (26 receptions, 2 TDs, 1 kickoff return for TD)

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click Here

TEXAS TECH STATISTICS: Click here

TEXAS TECH NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 42, Texas Tech 35

JEFF'S PICK: Cal 28, Texas Tech 24

DON WILLIAMS’ PICK (Lubbock Avalanche Journal): Texas Tech 30, Cal 24

TICKETS: Click here. StubHub: Click here.

Cover photo of Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton by Michael C. Johnson, USA TODAY Sports

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport