Which Team Will Be Cal's Opponent in a Bowl Game?

Cal (6-4) is already bowl-eligible with two games left on schedule (Stanford this Saturday and SMU on November 29), but there is still no consensus on what bowl the Bears will play in and or which team Cal will face.

By this stage of the season, there is usually a sense of two or three possible bowl destinations for a team. But the nine reliable college football experts we cite this week predict six different bowl destinations for Cal and eight different bowl opponents for the Bears.

Two of those sites project Cal will be in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, two predict the Bears will wind up in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, and two expect Cal to head to the First Responder Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Las Vegas Bowl, the Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas, and the Texas Bowl in Houston are the other three other projected postseason destinations for the Bears.

Here is a look at the eight opponents Cal is projected to play:

Iowa State (6-4, 3-4 Big 12) – Iowa State is the only team that two sites project to be Cal’s postseason opponent. The Cyclones won their first six games and were ranked 14th in the nation. They then lost four in a row, all by close scores, to drop out of sight before knocking off TCU this past weekend. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell reportedly is one of Penn State’s targets to become the Nittany Lions’ next head coach.

Boise State (6-4, 4-2 Mountain West) – The Broncos still have a shot at the Mountain West title but won’t be in the College Football Playoff. They lost to San Diego State on Saturday Fresno State the week before. Their best win was against New Mexico. Cal offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin was Boise State’s head coach from 2014 through 2020. Broncos running back Dylan Riley has rushed for more than 100 yards four times this year and has a good shot at finishing the regular season with 1,000 yards

Hawaii (7-3, 4-2 Mountain West) – Hawaii would be playing in its home stadium if it faced Cal in the Hawaii Bowl. The Rainbow Warriors also have a shot at the Mountain West title with no chance of reaching the College Football Playoff. Redshirt freshman quarterback Micah Alejandro has thrown 15 touchdown passes with three interceptions over the past five games.

UConn (8-3, Independent) – The surprising Huskies feature one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, Joe Fagnano, though few know much about him. He has thrown 25 touchdown passes with just one interception in what is his seventh season of college football. He threw his only pick this past weekend, but he had three touchdown passes and no interceptions the previous week in a win over Duke.

Memphis (8-3, 4-3 American Conference) – The Tigers were 8-1 before losing their last two games. Quarterback Brendan Lewis has thrown 13 touchdown passes, but has been sacked 25 times.

Iowa (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) – The Hawkeyes were ranked 20th in the country before losing to Oregon and USC the past two weeks by a combined margin of seven points. Iowa nearly beat Indiana but Fernando Mendoza threw a 49-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 left to give the Hoosiers a 20-15 victory.

Fresno State (7-3, 4-2 Mountain West) – Still in contention for the Mountain West title, the Bulldogs beat Boise State 30-7 in Boise two weeks ago, and that’s not easy to do. Fresno State relies on its defense, and ranks 12th in the country in total defense. Cal has faced Fresno State only three times ever, and the Bulldogs have won two of those games.

Baylor (5-5, 3-4 Big 12) – The Bears have a good offense, averaging 33.2 points, third-best in the Big 12, but they give most of it back when their opponents have the ball. Baylor ranks 15th in the 16-team Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing 31.9 points per game. The Bears have given up more than 30 points in four of their past five games.

Teams that were members of the Pac-12 in 2023, such as Cal, have tie-ins with Pac-12-affiliated bowls. The six Pac-12-affiliated bowls are listed at the end of this report.

Here are the nine projections for Cal by the nine experts. (All times are Pacific time.)

ESPN (Kyle Bonagura)

Hawaii Bowl – Cal vs. Boise State

Wednesday, December 24

Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)

5 p.m., ESPN

ESPN (Mark Schlabach)

Hawaii Bowl – Cal vs. Hawaii

Wednesday, December 24

Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)

5 p.m., ESPN

Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan)

Frisco Bowl – Cal vs. UConn

Tuesday, December 23

Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas)

6 p.m., ESPN

SI (Bryan Fischer)

First Responder Bowl – Cal vs. Memphis

Friday, December 26

Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)

8 p.m., ESPN

CBS Sports (Brad Crawford)

Las Vegas Bowl – Cal vs. Iowa

Wednesday, December 31

Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)

12:30 p.m., ESPN

The Athletic (Scott Dochterman)

First Responder Bowl – Cal vs. Fresno State

Friday, December 26

Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)

8 p.m., ESPN

USA Today (Erick Smith)

Texas Bowl – Cal vs. Iowa State

Saturday, December 27

NRG Stadium (Houston)

6:15 p.m., ESPN

College Football News (Pete Fiutak)

Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Iowa State

Tuesday, December 30

Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)

11 a.m., ESPN

Pro Football Network

Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Baylor

Tuesday, December 30

Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)

11 a.m., ESPN

Bowls that have tie-ins to the teams that were in the Pac-12 in 2023, which includes Cal:

LA Bowl -- December 13, 6 p.m. Pacific time, SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California), ESPN

Independence Bowl – December 30, 11 a.m. Pacific time, Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana), ESPN

Las Vegas Bowl – December 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas), ESPN

Sun Bowl – December 31, 11 a.m. Pacific time, Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas), CBS

Alamo Bowl – December 30, 6 p.m., Alamodome (San Antonio), ESPN

Holiday Bowl – January 2, 5 p.m., Pacific time, Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego), Fox