College Football Odds - Armed Forces Bowl

What: Armed Forces Bowl
Who: California (6-6) vs. Air Force (9-3)
Where: Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
When: Monday, 12:30 p.m.
WagerWeb.com line: Cal -4.5

Disappointing California of the Pac-10 faces Air Force from the Mountain West in Monday's first bowl game of six.

On Oct. 13, the Golden Bears were ranked No. 2 in the AP poll and were in position to possibly move into the No. 1 spot after LSU was upset by Kentucky earlier in the day. Instead they were stunned 31-28 by Oregon State at home, which is when the wheels began to fall off.

A loss to Air Force would punctuate the Bears' season-ending collapse while a win would provide a bit of momentum for next season.

"If you have any pride as a team, you don't want to go down as a losing team," linebacker Worrell Williams said. "You don't want to go down as the team that broke the streak as a winning program. That's going through everyone's mind. We all are going out there with that approach."

To win, Cal will need to stop Air Force receiver/returner Chad Hall. The senior compiled a school-record 2,504 all-purpose yards and is No. 2 on the all-time list with 1,415 rushing yards. He is the lone player in the nation to lead his team in both rushing and receiving (46 catches for 488 yards).He was named the conference's offensive player of the year, leading the Mountain West in all-purpose yards, rushing and scoring, and ranking second in punt-return average and ninth in kick returns.

He averaged 13.2 touches during the Falcons' 3-2 start but has averaged 31.7 while Air Force was winning six of its last seven.

First-year coach Troy Calhoun led the Falcons to the nation's second-best turnaround - from 4-8 to 9-3.

This is Air Force's first bowl game in five years.

Cal's offense was supposed to be one of the nation's best behind QB Nate Longshore, RB Justin Forsett and WR DeSean Jackson.

But Longshore missed the loss to Oregon State with an ankle injury, and threw 11 interceptions in six games after returning the next week. It hampered the Bears, who averaged 39.4 points and 426 yards of offense in their first five games, but only 20.3 points and 380 yards in their final seven.

Forsett ranked second in the Pac-10 and 19th in the nation with 116.9 ypg on the ground, accounting for 13 rushing touchdowns. Jackson had a disappointing season, with 60 catches for 681 yards and five TDs.

The Bears' defense held only two opponents to less than 20 points this season, resulting in a scoring defense that allowed 26 ppg. The run defense was especially suspect as it permitted 151.9 ypg, ranking seventh in the Pac-10 and 58th in the country.

Air Force, meanwhile, ranked second in the country with 298.5 ypg on the ground.

Prediction: If Cal shows any interest, it should win somewhat easily. Cal 41, Air Force 28.