Monday's Redbox Bowl: Pac12 guru Jesse Madwed looks at Cal vs Illinois – Will Chase Garbers be the difference in a defensive battle

California -6 over Illinois

Redbox Bowl, 4 pm EST

This one might come down to the ability of Illinois to score points against a stout Cal defense. The Golden Bears finished out the year strong with wins in three out of their last four games. One the other side, the Fighting Illini limped to the finish with losses to Iowa and Northwestern. While Iowa is a tough team that just took it to USC in the Holiday Bowl, giving up 29 points to a horrendous Northwestern offense was inexcusable. Cal’s offense worked well enough in games that Chase Garbers played in and he will be starting in this one. I don’t see Illinois being able to score on Cal and I think Cal will score enough to break away and win by a touchdown or more.

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