Cal Football: Bowl Projections -- Bears Could be Headed to El Paso

Sun Bowl seems to be the most likely landing spot for Cal

Cal’s bowl possibilities picked up considerably by beating Washington State last Saturday.

(This story was posted the day before Saturday's loss to USC, which changes the postseason picture for the Bears.)

Only three of the 11 expert sites we cited last week projected the Bears (5-4) to be in a bowl game. But this week, eight of those 11 experts predict Cal will play in a bowl.

The strangest projection was provided by College Football News. Last week College Football News had Cal playing in the Redbox Bowl, but after the Bears beat Washington State College Football News projects that Cal will not be invited to any bowl.

Oh well.

This week the most common projection has Cal playing Dec. 31 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Five of the eight experts who project Cal to play in a bowl have the Bears landing in the Sun Bowl. Three pair Cal with Miami in that game, while the other two suggest Wake Forest will be the Bears’ Sun Bowl foe.

Two of our experts have Cal facing Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl, while one has the Bears staying close to home in the Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara.

A victory over USC (6-4) in Saturday’s 8 p.m. game in Berkeley might alter Cal’s postseason destination again.

Here are the bowl projections of the 11 experts:

Sporting News: Cal vs. Wake Forest, Sun Bowl, Dec. 31

Sports Illustrated: Cal vs. Wake Forest, Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 

Bleacher Report: Cal vs. Miami, Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 

247 Sports: Cal vs. Miami, Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 

ESPN (Kyle Bunagura): Cal vs. Miami, Sun Bowl, Dec. 31   

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Cal vs. Boise State, Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 21

USA Today: Cal vs. Boise State, Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 21 

Yahoo.com: Cal vs. Iowa, Redbox Bowl (Santa Clara), Dec. 30 

College Football News: Cal not projected to play in a bowl. 

CBS Sports: Cal not projected to be in a bowl  

Brett McMurphy: Cal not projected to play in a bowl