Cal Bowl Projections: It Doesn't Look Good at the Moment

All eight college experts we cite have the same opinion about Cal's postseason possibilities

Cal lost to Clemson on Friday night | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week, five of the eight college football experts we cited projected that Cal would wind up in a bowl game this season.

This week, following the Bears’ 24-10 loss to Clemson, none of those same eight sites project that Cal will play a postseason game.

It’s still early, so there is plenty of time for Cal to put together a bowl-worthy resume, but with a 2-2 record, the odds are diminishing.

Cal could increase its chances of playing in a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season by winning Saturday afternoon's road game against UNLV. Like Cal, the Rebels have a 2-2 record, but all eight of the projections we cite have UNLV in a bowl game.

Presumably getting the six wins needed to be bowl-eligible are easier to attain in UNLV’s Mountain West Conference schedule than in Cal’s ACC schedule.

Again this year, teams such as Cal who were members of the Pac-12 in 2023 are tied to Pac-12-affiliated bowl games. A list of the Pac-12 bowls appears at the end of this report.

Here are the eight sites we cited, although they all say the same thing about Cal.

On SI (Bryan Fischer)

No bowl for Cal

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CBS Sports (Brad Crawford)

No bowl for Cal

.

ESPN (Kyle Bonagura)

No bowl for Cal

.

ESPN (Mark Schlabach)

No bowl for Cal

.

On3 (Brett McMurphy)

No bowl for Cal

.

Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan)

No bowl for Cal

.

College Football News (Pete Fiutak)

No bowl for Cal

.

USA Today (Erick Smith)

No bowl for Cal

.

Below is the pecking order of bowl games affiliated with teams that were Pac-12 members in 2023, which includes Cal:

--- 1. Alamo Bowl (Legacy Pac-12 vs. Big 12) – December 28, 6 p.m. Pacific time, at the Alamodome in San Antonio Texas. TV: ESPN.

--- 2. Las Vegas Bowl (Legacy Pac-12 vs. SEC/Big Ten) – December 31, 12:45 p.m. Pacific time, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. TV: ESPN.

--- 3. Holiday Bowl (Legacy Pac-12 vs. ACC) – December 28, 2 p.m. Pacific time, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California. TV: ESPN.

--- 4. Sun Bowl (Legacy Pac-12 vs. ACC) – December 31, 11 a.m. Pacific time, at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. TV: CBS.

--- 5. Poinsettia Bowl (Legacy Pac-12 vs. current Pac-12) – December 23, 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California. TV: CW Network.

--- 6. Independence Bowl (Legacy Pac-12 vs. Big 12) – December 22, 5:30 p.m. Pacific time, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. TV: ESPN.

--- 7. ESPN bowl pool (possibly the Armed Forces Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl and First Responders Bowl)

If no vacancies remain for a bowl-eligible Cal team, it's possible that the Bears would go to a bowl affiliated with the ACC or elsewhere.

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