2018 Cheez-It Bowl

The 2018 Cheez-It Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2018, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The game was the 30th annual playing of the Cheez-It Bowl and the first played under that name. It featured the California Golden Bears from the Pac-12 Conference and the TCU Horned Frogs from the Big 12 Conference in the teams' first meeting. The game began at 7:00 p.m. MST and was broadcast on ESPN. It was one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season.

TCU defeated California, 10–7, to win the game in overtime. California scored first on a rushing touchdown by quarterback Chase Garbers in the first quarter and held their 7–0 lead until a rushing touchdown by TCU running back Sewo Olonilua on the last play from scrimmage of the third quarter. The game was tied 7–7 at the end of regulation; California's overtime possession ended in an interception and TCU placekicker Jonathan Song made a 27-yard field goal on TCU's overtime possession, securing a victory for the Horned Frogs.

The teams combined to throw nine interceptions, leading to the nickname Cheez-INT Bowl being used by some. This tied it for the third-most interceptions in bowl game history and led to media coverage that both praised the game for its entertainment value and criticized the low quality of play.

Teams

The Cheez-It Bowl matched the California Golden Bears from the Pac-12 Conference and the TCU Horned Frogs from the Big 12 Conference. It was the first meeting between Cal and TCU. The matchup was finalized on December 2, 2018.

California Golden Bears

The California Golden Bears represented the University of California, Berkeley and were led by second-year head coach Justin Wilcox. They opened their season with three straight wins and were ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll released on September 23, 2018. The following week, they lost to No. 24 Oregon, starting a three-game losing streak. Their other ranked opponents were No. 15 Washington, whom they beat by two points on October 27, and No. 10 Washington State, to whom they lost by six points on November 3. They concluded the regular season with a overall record and a 4–5 record in Pac-12 play.

TCU Horned Frogs

The TCU Horned Frogs represented Texas Christian University and were led by eighteenth-year head coach Gary Patterson. They were ranked No. 16 in the preseason AP Poll, but they had dropped out of the poll by September 23 following consecutive losses to No. 4 Ohio State and Texas. The Horned Frogs lost both of their remaining games against ranked competition: to No. 9 Oklahoma on October 20 and at No. 7 West Virginia on November 10. They won both of their final two regular season games to finish 6–6 overall and 4–5 in the Big 12.

Game summary

The Cheez-It Bowl was televised by ESPN with a commentary team of Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer, and Olivia Dekker. The ESPN Radio broadcast featured commentary from Kevin Brown, Andre Ware, and Shelley Smith. The game's officiating crew, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), was led by referee Marc Curles. The game was played indoors at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The pregame odds did not indicate a favorite; there was no point spread assigned and the projected over–under was set at 38.5 points.

The pregame coin toss was won by TCU. They deferred their choice the second half and California received the ball to begin the game.

First half

The game's opening kickoff by TCU's Cole Bunce went out-of-bounds, giving California possession of the ball at their own 35-yard line. Each of the first three drives of the game ended with a punt; California gained 32 and 18 yards, respectively, on each of their first two drives while TCU earned 15 yards before their first punt of the game. TCU began their second drive from their own 17-yard line; after a rush for no gain, quarterback Grayson Muehlstein's pass was intercepted by Cal's Jaylinn Hawkins at the TCU 34-yard line. California followed with a 30-yard pass from quarterback Chase Garbers to wide receiver Kanawai Noa on their next play from scrimmage and immediately afterward scored the game's first points on a 4-yard touchdown rush by Garbers. Placekicker Greg Thomas made the extra point, giving Cal a 7–0 lead. TCU's ensuing series ended with the game's first three-and-out, giving Cal possession at their own 26-yard line. The Golden Bears advanced to the TCU 44-yard line in three plays before committing their first turnover, a Julius Lewis interception on a pass by Garbers. The first quarter concluded several plays later with TCU in possession of the ball at the California 47-yard line.

On the first play of the second quarter, Muehlstein's pass was intercepted again by Hawkins, who returned it 29 yards to the TCU 17-yard line. Beginning their possession in the red zone, Cal gained 3 yards on a rush by Patrick Laird before Niko Small intercepted a pass by Garbers in the end zone and returned it to the TCU 45-yard line. The Horned Frogs' ensuing possession was short-lived, though, as Muehlstein threw his third interception of the game two plays later. This pass was picked off by Jordan Kunaszyk and returned to the California 49-yard line with 12:45 to play in the half. The teams traded punts over the next eight minutes; Cal went three-and-out, TCU gained a first down following a 9-yard Sewo Olonilua rush before stalling out and punting several plays later, and Cal gained a net total of two yards on six plays before returning the ball to the Horned Frogs with 4:25 remaining. TCU resumed possession with the ball on their own 20-yard line and opened the series with four consecutive rushes by Olonilua for a total of 44 yards to reach the Cal 36-yard line. After gaining 4 yards on 3rd & 6 several plays later, TCU opted to go for it facing 4th & 2 at the Cal 28-yard line. On the play, Muehlstein was sacked by Evan Rambo, leading to a loss of 12 yards and a turnover on downs with twenty-eight seconds to play. Cal's final possession of the first half ended in an interception by Jeff Gladney; the half ended one play later with Cal taking a 7–0 lead into halftime.

Second half

TCU received possession to begin the second half and began their drive with three Olonilua rushes, gaining seventeen yards. Two plays later, Muehlstein threw his fourth interception—the third to Hawkins—at the Cal 32-yard line. Several punts followed: Cal reached TCU territory in two plays but gained eight yards afterwards and punted, TCU punted rather than attempting to convert 4th & 1, and Cal punted again despite a 33-yard pass completion from Chase Forrest to Jordan Duncan four plays earlier. The last of these punts was returned 58 yards by TCU's Jalen Reagor to the California 33-yard line; the Horned Frogs reached the red zone in three plays following rushes by Olonilua and Emari Demercado. They faced 4th & 2 from the Cal 14-yard line a short time later but converted on a 13-yard rush by Olonilua, who scored TCU's first points on a 1-yard rush the next play. Jonathan Song converted the extra point, tying the game at seven points apiece. The ensuing kickoff by Bunce was the last play of the third quarter.

The first drive of the fourth quarter was a Cal three-and-out which featured a net loss of ten yards on the first two plays and a punt on 4th & 20. TCU earned a first down in two plays to begin their next drive of but gained only three yards afterwards and punted on 4th & 7; each team went three-and-out on their next possession, leaving California with the ball on their own 11-yard line with roughly seven and a half minutes remaining. Cal's Christopher Brown Jr. rushed for a total of 25 yards on four carries to begin that series, which ended on the next play when Chase Forrest's pass was intercepted by Vernon Scott at the Cal 41-yard line. TCU shortly afterwards faced 4th & 2; on that play, Olonilua rushed for no gain, leading to a turnover on downs. Forrest passed for 22 yards to Maurice Ways on the first play of Cal's ensuing drive, but the Golden Bears ended the drive with a punt. TCU began the final drive of regulation with 2:08 remaining at their own 10-yard line; they crossed midfield in three plays and reached the Cal 27-yard line with three seconds left. Bunce missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired, ending regulation with a 7–7 score.

Overtime

TCU won the overtime coin toss and opted to play defense first.

California's overtime possession began with a 3-yard rush by Christopher Brown Jr. and an incomplete pass by Forrest. On their third play, Forrest's pass was intercepted by Jawuan Johnson, who returned it 84 yards before being tackled at the California 5-yard line. TCU's possession began with a 15-yard penalty that set the Horned Frogs back to the Cal 40-yard line because their sports information director tripped on a down marker and fell onto the field. Each of TCU's next nine plays were rushes by either Olonilua or Demercado which totaled 30 yards. On 4th & 7 from the Cal 10-yard line, Jonathan Song made a 27-yard field goal, giving TCU a 10–7 victory.

Scoring summary

Statistics

Aftermath and reactions

Over the course of the game, the teams combined to throw nine interceptions, leading to the use of the nickname Cheez-INT Bowl live on air by ESPN and by analysts after the game. Six of the nine interceptions came in the first half; this alone broke the standing Cheez-It Bowl record for interceptions in a game, set when Arizona and New Mexico combined for six in the 1997 Insight.com Bowl. It tied the 1982 Liberty Bowl for third-most interceptions in a bowl game, behind only the 1968 Sun Bowl (12 interceptions) and the 1942 Orange Bowl (10).

''SB Nation'' called the game "one of the most beautifully hideous bowls ever", ''Business Insider'' called it "an absolute calamity" and an "absolute disaster of a football game", and ''Golf Digest'' called it "the best-worst bowl game ever".

TCU running back Sewo Olonilua was named offensive MVP, and California safety Jaylinn Hawkins was named defensive MVP. Hawkins set a Cheez-It Bowl record with three interceptions.

References

External links

Box score
at ESPN

{{TCU Horned Frogs bowl game navbox

Cheez-It Bowl
Rate Bowl
California Golden Bears football bowl games
TCU Horned Frogs football bowl games
Cheez-It Bowl
December 2018 sports events in the United States
2010s in Phoenix, Arizona