Points will be at a premium on Wednesday night when two of the best defenses in the country square off. The California Golden Bears and TCU Horned Frogs both made it to a bowl game due to the strength of their respective defenses, and they will be out to show why in the Cheez-It Bowl. This is the most recent iteration of what was originally known as the Copper Bowl, but it has changed names many times over the last three decades for sponsorship reasons. It is the first time that Cheez-It will be sponsoring the bowl game.
BookMaker is the only place to bet all 41 college football bowl games this season. BookMaker has the best lines for bettors, and your stocking might be a little bit fuller if you play here. The Cheez-It Bowl will take place on Wednesday, December 26, 2018 at 9 p.m. ET at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
NCAA Football Betting at BookMaker.eu
California -1
TCU +1
Total 38.5
Odds Analysis
Cal got off to a really good start this year. The Golden Bears were able to take care of North Carolina in their season opener and followed that up with an upset win over BYU in Provo. However, the start of PAC-12 play was rather rough for them, as they lost their first three conference games to fall to 3-3. Cal roared back to win four of its next five though and scored big wins over Washington and USC in the process. Their lone loss during this time came on the road against Washington State.
TCU was left for dead after a 3-5 start. The Horned Frogs lost star quarterback Shawn Robinson midway through the season, and things looked grim after a loss to conference doormat Kansas at the end of October. However, the defense led the way for wins in three of their last four games. The Horned Frogs beat Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State in one-score games, and their only loss was on the road against West Virginia.
Matchup to Watch
As I said up top, both teams win through their defense, so that will go a long way to determining the winner in this contest. California has the No. 12 ranked defense in the country, and that defense shined throughout the year. Only up-tempo teams like Oregon and UCLA were able to move the ball effectively on them, and Cal tightened up over the last half of the season. The Golden Bears allowed 14 PPG over their last six games.
The Horned Frogs’ defense wasn’t that great, but they were facing much better offenses in the Big 12. TCU flummoxed one of the top scoring offenses in the nation when they held Texas Tech to just 17 points, and they were only beat bad by great offenses with dynamic quarterbacks.
Player to Watch
Chase Garbers was the best option at quarterback for Cal this season. The homegrown freshman from Newport Beach did not throw as many interceptions as Brandon McIlwain, but he wasn’t too effective either. He averaged just 5.9 yards per pass this season, and that’s why Cal’s offense was the worst of any team to make it to a bowl game per S&P+. TCU is likely going to press and stack the box to force Garbers to throw, and he will need to hit a deep ball or two to loosen up the coverage.
Live Betting Preview
Gary Patterson is one of the best coaches we have in the game today. He has been in Fort Worth for nearly two decades, and he has shined during bowl season. TCU has won nine of its last 12 bowl games with him calling the shots, and the Horned Frogs have continually won games that no one thought they would. I’ll trust Patterson in a toss-up here.
NCAA Football Odds: TCU 20, California 17
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