By Marisol Nicholas
GAME NOTES
https://calbears.com/documents/2023/12/12/23FB-Cal-GameNotes_IndependenceBowl.pdf
BERKELEY – The California football team travels to Shreveport, Louisiana, for the 2023 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl with a 6:15 p.m. PST kickoff on Saturday, Dec. 16, vs. Texas Tech. The Golden Bears (6-6, 4-5 Pac-12) and Red Raiders (6-6, 5-4 Big 12) will meet for the second time in history.
INDEPENDENCE BOWL LINEUP
Venue: Independence Stadium
Time: 6:15 p.m. PST
Television (ESPN): Kevin Connors (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), Marilyn Payne (reporter)
Cal Bears Sports Network Powered By Northern California Auto Dealers: 810 AM
Justin Allegri (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Alex Jensen (sideline reporter);
SiriusXM Ch. 383 or 109 SXM App 973, The Varsity App
LET’S GO BOWLING
– Saturday will be the second all-time meeting between California and Texas Tech
– The first matchup came in the 2004 Holiday Bowl when the No. 23 Red Raiders took down the No. 4 Golden Bears, 45-31
– Cal won its third straight game on November 25 with a 33-7 victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl to secure the program’s first bowl bid since 2019 (Redbox Bowl). The Bears are looking to end the season on a four-game win streak for the first time since winning their final four games in 1993 with a 37-3 victory over Iowa at the Alamo Bowl. The last Cal team to end the season on more than a four-game win streak was 1931 when it won its final five contests
– The Bears are 12-11-1 all-time in bowl games and 1-1 under head coach Justin Wilcox
– Cal has played once previously in Shreveport, Louisiana, a 41-34 loss to Louisiana Tech on Oct. 4, 1997
HONORS SEASON
– Cal has picked up several honors since the end of the regular season, led by running back Jaydn Ott and linebacker Cade Uluave.
– Ott was named First Team All-Pac-12 by the league’s coaches, the Associated Press, College Football Network and College Football News, while also being one of 10 national finalists for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award
– Uluave earned the Pac-12’s Defensive Freshman of the Year award, while The Athletic and College Football Network gave him First Team Freshman All-American recognition
– Jack Endries was selected Second Team Freshman All-America by The Athletic and an honorable mention pick of College Football News
– Fernando Mendoza earned Pac-12 Offensive Freshman Of The Year honorable mention
– Lachlan Wilson was named Second Team All-Pac-12
– David Reese and Craig Woodson both received All-Pac-12 honorable mention
– Brett Johnson was named a semifinalist for AP Comeback Player of the Year
OTT-STANT IMPACT
– Jaydn Ott has rushed 229 times for 1,260 yards with 11 touchdowns on the ground (all career highs), while adding 21 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdown catches with one kick return for a 100-yard touchdown. He has 1,501 all-purpose yards and 1,401 yards from scrimmage with 14 total touchdowns
– Ott ranks seventh on Cal’s all-time single-season yards rushing list, while he is one shy of the top 10 for rushing touchdowns (four with 12) and four off the school record of 15 shared by J.J. Arrington (2004), Justin Forsett (2007) and Jahvid Best (2008)
– Ott ranks among Pac-12 and NCAA leaders in rushing yards per game (114.5, No. 1 Pac-12, No. 5 NCAA), rushing yards (1,260, No. 1 Pac-12, No. 10 NCAA), all-purpose yards per game (136.4, No. 1 Pac-12, No. 8 NCAA), total touchdowns (14, No. 2T, No. 20T NCAA), rushing touchdowns (No. 2T Pac-12, No. 31T NCAA), scoring (7.6 ppg, No. 3 Pac-12, No. 48 NCAA) and rush yards per carry (5.5, No. 6 Pac-12, No. 47 NCAA)
– Ott has five of the top nine rushing games by Pac-12 players in 2023 while no one else has more than one (188 at North Texas, 167 vs. Washington State, 166 at Stanford, 165 vs. Arizona State, 153 vs. USC)
– Scoring on touchdown runs of 61 and 43 yards in the Oct. 28 game vs. USC, Ott now has five career TD runs of at least 40 yards
STAY POSTED
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