2009 Poinsettia Bowl Betting Lines: Utah vs Cal

Written December 14, 2009 by Rock Henderson

The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl will feature a Mountain West vs. Pac-10 battle when Utah and Cal hook up. Utah has won their last eight bowl match-ups including a 31-17 upset of the #4 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl a year ago. This will be the eighth straight year the Utes have appeared in the postseason. Cal had high expectations coming into the year as the Pac-10 race was wide open, but injuries and inconsistent play cost them dearly. Their regular season wrapped up with a 42-10 defeat at the hands of a sub par Washington team. Something will have to give between these two though as Cal has won their last four bowl games. The Golden Bears are a 3 point favorite according to the latest NCAA football betting lines.

Any success towards the end of the season that Cal was experiencing came to a screeching halt in their 32 point loss at Washington. The Bears had won 5 of their last 6 games before that loss. QB Kevin Riley has taken every snap for Cal this season, throwing for 2636 yards and 17 touchdowns against six interceptions. The offense averages over 40 ppg in their eight wins, but only 7.5 points in four losses. Much of the success on the offensive end rides on the play of Riley. All-American RB Jahvid Best missed the final three games of the regular season after a nasty spill against Oregon State led to a severe concussion. His status for the bowl game is unknown, but it is expected that he will not participate. Best’s backup Shane Vereen has settled into the starting running back role nicely. The sophomore tailback has rushed for 830 yards and 10 touchdowns in limited duty. In the last three games alone, Vereen has rushed for 159, 193 and 92 yards as the Bears went 2-1. Cal’s defense has been up and down all season long even though they have quite a bit of talent on that side of the ball. Led by lockdown corner Syd’Quan Thompson, the defense allows an average of 24 ppg and have struggled against dual threat quarterbacks.

23rd ranked Utah has made the most of their season so far as they have a chance to complete back-to-back 10 win seasons. The Utes have had injury issues of their own as starting RB Matt Asiata was lost for the year with a torn ACL. They also made a change at quarterback midway through the schedule as junior college transfer Terrance Cain was benched in favor of true freshman Jordan Wynn. The young quarterback has played well in spurts, but needs to be more consistent in the future for the Utes. RB Eddie Wide has filled in nicely for Asiata, rushing for over 1000 yards and 12 scores. The almost month off between their last game against BYU and the bowl game versus Cal will allow Wide to rest his injured ankle. Utah will see a familiar face on the opposite sideline running Cal’s offense as Andy Ludwig was Utah’s offensive coordinator during their undefeated run a season ago before departing for the Pac-10. The Utes defense has played this year and have been a strength of this team allowing under 20 ppg. In their three losses, however, they were blitzed for 55, 31 and 26 so if they can keep Cal in check they should have a very good chance at winning this game. Sign up now for a new account with Bodog and make a $100 deposit for a $100 match bonus to be automatically added to your account! You can use that extra money to do some college football betting this bowl season!

Cal is the more talented team from top to bottom, but Utah seems to relish in the role of spoilers during postseason play. The Utes also are playing to keep their eight game bowl winning streak alive which is the longest in the country. It will come to an end here though as the Golden Bears will come out with a purpose after laying an egg against Washington. If they get Best back that will be an added bonus.

Recommended Play: Cal -3

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