TCU football vs. Cal Bears in Cheez-It Bowl: Kickoff time, TV, line, prediction

The Cheez-It Bowl will be the first time TCU and Cal have faced each other in a football game. 

It’ll be a sneak peak of a home-and-home series the two programs have scheduled in 2020 and 2021. Both coaches figure to be around when that home-and-home is played too.

TCU has no interest in seeing Gary Patterson leave. And Cal seems to have made a solid hire with Justin Wilcox. Both are defensive gurus who have shined in conferences known for offense.

TCU is ranked No. 26 nationally in total defense, and Cal is No. 16. So all signs point to a defensive battle at Chase Field.

Plenty is at stake too even though this is considered a second-tier bowl game by most. TCU wants to have a winning season for the 14th time in Patterson’s 18 seasons, while Cal is looking to win its first bowl game since 2015.

Here’s everything you need to know going into it –

The details

Kickoff: 8 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Chase Field, Phoenix

TV: ESPN (Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer, Olivia Dekker)

Radio: WBAP 820 AM, KTCU 88.7 FM, SiriusXM 81 (Brian Estridge, Landry Burdine, Alexa Shaw)

Spanish Radio: KFZO 99.1 FM (Miguel Cruz, Elvis Gallegos)

The line: Pick ‘em (over/under 39)

Did you know?

This will be TCU’s first football game in a venue used primarily for baseball. Chase Field is the home of MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks. … TCU has won nine of its last 12 bowl games. … TCU takes the field with 14 players having already earned their degrees. … TCU WR Jalen Reagor has caught a TD pass in a school-record seven consecutive games and counting. … TCU is 16-16-1 all-time in bowl games. 

They said it

“Defensive battles are always more fun to play in, just for me. But at the end of the day, someone’s got to make a play. So however we win, if we can win 55-56 or 3-2, it doesn’t really matter to me.” – TCU defensive end Ben Banogu

“I love it. Defense wins championships. I’m excited. If it happens to be a shootout … we’ll be ready for whatever. Going into the game, it’s looking like a defensive game.” – Cal linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk

Prediction

This will be a defensive showdown. Gary Patterson is already established as one of the best defensive minds in the country, and Justin Wilcox is a rising star in the coaching industry. At the end of the day, though, this game will come down to who makes a play on offense – and TCU has the best playmaker on the field in Jalen Reagor.

TCU 20, Cal 16

This story was originally published December 24, 2018 at 9:00 PM.