When Texas stares across the line of scrimmage at the Cal Golden Bears on Dec. 28, the Longhorns will find themselves back in a familiar position — contesting for the opportunity to win a bowl game.

 

  At this time last year the Horns were sitting at home, while 70 other teams enjoyed postseason play. Continuing the season beyond 12 games and playing in the 2011 Holiday Bowl in San Diego sure beats the alternative.

 

  “I'm looking forward to playing in the Holiday Bowl once again,” coach Mack Brown said. "It's always an exciting game and playing Cal will be a fun challenge for us. San Diego is not only an ideal location, but a great host as well. The city really embraces the teams and the game.”

  The Horn’s 7-5 record not only earned them the No. 24 position in the final BCS poll, but an invitation to a bowl game. All five of Texas’ losses were to Big 12 opponents and of the Horns’ seven wins, four came against teams that received bowl invitations.

 

  Playing in the Holiday Bowl allows the team to put behind the 2010 season. Last season ended Texas’ record stretch of 12 straight bowl appearances, running from 1998-2009. With this year’s invitation, the Horns have earned 13 spots in the postseason in the 14 years under Brown.

 

  “Texas is a program on the rise right now,” senior tight end Blaine Irby said. “Last year we took a drop, but we’re coming back. We have a young team that’s improving. They’ve taken on leadership roles and really done their job.”

 

  This will be the fifth meeting between the Longhorns and Golden Bears, with Texas leading the series, 4-0. The teams first met in 1959 in Austin, which ended in a 33-0 UT victory. Texas then won 28-3 in Berkeley in 1961, 17-0 in Berkeley in 1969, and 56-15 in Austin in 1970.

 

  "Texas is a great program I always watched growing up,” California linebacker D.J. Holt said. “I think [the Holiday Bowl] will be a great opportunity to play Texas and see where we stack up in the country."

   This year marks UT's fifth appearance in the Holiday Bowl, the first since 2007 when the Longhorns defeated Arizona State, 52-34. The other three games were all close affairs, being decided by a total of 17 points. The Horns defeated Washington, 47-43, in 2001, while falling to Oregon, 35-30 in 2000 and Washington State, 28-20 in 2003.

 

  Holiday Bowl officials pulled out a storyline dating back to 2004, when they matched UT and Cal for their game. After a 10-1 season in 2004, the Bears anticipated playing in the Rose Bowl. That is, until Texas supplanted Cal in the final BCS rankings and earned a trip to Pasadena to face Michigan. The Golden Bears ended up in the Holiday Bowl, where they lost to Texas Tech.

 

  The Horns have won seven of their last nine bowl games and have an 8-4 record under Brown. In the 14 years prior to Brown's arrival, Texas went to seven bowls and was 2-5. Brown is the first UT coach since Darrell Royal, who was 8-7-1 in bowl games, to post a .500 or better bowl record.
 
   Brown's personal string, including time at North Carolina, goes back even further. He has directed his teams to 19 bowls in the last 20 seasons, which is tied for the longest active streak in the nation.

 

  “We’re fired up to go to a great bowl with a great tradition and a great history,” defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “[Cal] Coach [Jeff] Tedford is known as one of the top offensive coaches in college football. You know when you go against one of his teams it’s going to be a challenge for you defensively.”

 

  Cal is also 7-5 on the season. And although the Golden Bears and Longhorns will arrive in San Diego with the same record, the two teams traveled very different paths along the way. Cal started 3-0 but fell to 4-4 before winning three of its final four, losing only to No. 4 Stanford. Texas was 4-0 and 6-2, and then lost three of its final four games.

 

  “With as many first and second year football players as we have, these guys have never been to a bowl game,” Diaz said. “They’re saying, ‘Holiday Bowl, that sounds great to us.’ As coaches, we love what the practice opportunities can provide for us.”

 

  Playing in a bowl game gives teams the chance for an additional two and a half weeks of practice, time that improves the team down the road.

 

  “Every one of those practice days is invaluable,” Diaz said. “It gives us a chance to continue the investment in the future of our football team. Football is a hard sport to get better at unless you’re playing.”

 

  The Horns head to San Diego as the Big 12 leader in total defense (allowing an average of 315.3 yards per game, 14th among FBS teams) and rushing defense (103.7 yards per game, 11^th in the NCAA). The team also ranked second in the Big 12 in pass efficiency defense with a 111.88 rating, ranking them 14^th in the NCAA. Texas logged its defensive success despite facing three of the nation's top four ranked teams in total offense (No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Oklahoma), as well as six of the top 15 (No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 12 Missouri and No. 14 Texas Tech).

 

  The Longhorns’ offense hopes to have two elements of their rushing attack (which racked up an average of 210.4 yards per game) back in the lineup for the Holiday Bowl.

 

  Freshman running backs Malcolm Brown (707 yards and 5 TDs) and Joe Bergeron (454 yards and 5 TDs) are expected to play after injuries slowed them in the second half of the season. The duo produced a combined 1,161 yards, 10 TDs and four 100-yard rushing games in their first season at Texas. The Horns are averaging 404 yards of offense and nearly 30 points per game.

 

  Cal’s offensive unit showed tremendous improvement in 2011, increasing its total production from 334 yards per game and a No. 90 national ranking in 2010 to 418 yards per game and a No. 37 ranking this season. The passing game led the way for the improvement, moving in the national rankings from No. 94 (175 ypg) to No. 38 (264 ypg).

 

  Much of the damage on offense was done by wide receiver Keenan Allen, a first-team All-Pac-12 choice that’s second in the conference in receptions (7.42) and third in receiving yards per game (105). He’s also second on Cal’s all-time single-season lists in both receptions (89) and receiving yards (1,261), while adding a team-high six touchdown catches.

 

  The Golden Bears’ defense is spurred by linebacker Mychal Kendricks, the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year. Cal paced the Pac-12 in pass defense (209 ypg, 43^rd in NCAA) and tackles for loss (7.67 per game, No. 5 in the NCAA), while ranking second in total defense (339 ypg, No. 26 in the NCAA).

 

  “We’ll get back to doing what we do well defensively,” Diaz said. “Cal will provide a test for us in all three phases. All we can do is work on improving ourselves so that we’re a stern test for them as well.”