Utah vs California 2009 Poinsettia Bowl Picks, Predictions & Odds: The Utah Utes and California Golden Bears are set to do battle on Wednesday, December 23rd in the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 8:00pm ET on ESPN. 2009 Poinsettia Bowl Picks, Predictions & Odds at online bookmaker Bodog.com have the No. 23 Utes listed as a +3.5 against the spread underdog.
Utah had another great season under Head Coach Kyle Whittingham, going 9-3 overall and 6-2 in Mountain West action. 
The Utes put together a six game win streak during the middle portion of their schedule, but they lost two of their last three games, including the season finale against BYU. The loss to the Cougars and a 55-18 loss to TCU on November 14th relegated the Utes to a third place finish in the Mountain West. Utah's only other setback, a 31-24 loss, came against Oregon at Autzen Stadium in mid September.
Utah will be making its seventh consecutive bowl appearance tomorrow evening, and its fifth consecutive with Whittingham on the sidelines. The Utes are 4-0 in bowl games under Whittingham (winning by an average of 14.3 points per game), which includes a 35-32 victory over Navy in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl.
California failed to meet their lofty expectations this season as many had the Bears penciled in as the Pac 10 winner when the season kicked off in August. However, Head Coach Jeff Tedford still guided Cal to a respectable 8-4 record and a fifth place finish in the conference standings with a 5-4 league mark. The Golden Bears won five of their last seven games, but they closed out the regular portion of their schedule with an ugly 42-10 loss at 5-7 Washington.
Tomorrow's San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl also marks the seventh consecutive postseason outing for the Bears. Cal has a 5-1 bowl record under Tedford (all as a favorite), garnering wins over Virginia Tech, BYU, Texas A&M, Air Force and Miami. The school's only postseason loss with Tedford in charge was the 2004 Holiday Bowl; the Bears, an 11 point favorite, were overwhelmed 45-31 by the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The Golden Bears have averaged 38.2 points per game in their last six bowl appearances.
2009 Poinsettia Bowl Picks Betting Trend: Utah is 9-1 straight up and against the spread in its last 10 games as an underdog with a spread between 0 and 3.5.
Bodog.com Utah vs California 2009 Poinsettia Bowl Picks, Predictions & Odds:
Utah Utes +3.5 (-120), Over 52 (-110), +140 (Moneyline)
California Golden Bears -3.5 (+100), Under 52 (-110), -160 (Moneyline)
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