...of the recent era. So nothing from the 30's or before.

I got to thinking about this after coming across highlights of the '91 Citrus Bowl victory. That plus someone on the CGB commenting on the 2006 Holiday Bowl. So, for the sake of discussion in this down time before the season starts I would like to put forth my list of the most satisfying bowl victories. If anyone wishes to contradict or put out their own list, fine. If not, hey, I'm on vacation this week and everything is fine.

The top tier:

(1) 1991 Citrus Bowl. In my opinion, a no-brainer. Many on this board are not old enough to remember but to me this was so satisfying. Defeating a Southern school that thought that Cal football was not tough and the big bad Clemson boys would just push them around. Coming back after a terrible Big Game loss. Totally frustrating and out-scheming Clemson. Russell White rushing for over a 100 yards against a team that had not given up a 100-yd rusher in several years. Granted, this was a bittersweet victory as Bruce Snyder was gone not long after. But that's another story.

(2) 2003 Insight Bowl. First bowl victory in a long time. Lots of action, game winning field goal. Not the most artistic game as Cal gave up a lot of points, but certainly entertaining.

(3) 2006 Holiday Bowl. Similar to the Citrus Bowl in terms of beating a team that thought they were pretty tough, with a huge power running back. Cal clearly demonstrated they were faster and just as tough.

(4) 1993 Alamo Bowl. A thorough pasting of Iowa. Total dominance on offense and defense.

Second tier:

Of the other victories, I don't have a clear preference for the order. Perhaps the victory over Miami in the Whatever-they-called-it-that-year Bowl, if only because that was the only bowl game I've actually attended. But really, every Cal bowl victory is a good one.

Now, for the bonus round. Anyone remember the Copper Bowl in 1990? Cal's first bowl victory since the 30's. Over Wyoming, and much close than it should have been.

Yes, and not only that, I remember the Garden State Bowl loss to (ugh!) Temple in 1979--our first appearance in 20 years. We were actually outplayed by Wyoming in the Copper, but managed a 17-15 win.

Definitely agree that the Citrus is the high point. Snyder's game plan was masterful. With White as the star, (remember Chester McGloughlin, the behemoth Clemson NT?), everyone expected us to run at them, and Snyder crossed them up by passing on every down for 10-12 plays in a row. In the second half, with a lead and a winded Clemson front 7, Snyder shifted gears and ran Russell, Russell, Russell; a thorough, humiliating beat down.

Yeah....I remember the Copper Bowl...barely. What I most remember is being so excited Cal got into a bowl. Weren't we 6-6 or 7-5 that year?..in hindsight it looks silly but back then, it was fun.

I think the Citrus Bowl was awesome but the 2006 Holiday Bowl was the best for me because TAMU was supposedly so tough with their huge offensive line and that big friggin RB....well, we punished them, I mean PUNISHED them on defense and Nate Longshore had a very good passing game along with our outstanding running attack with Marshawn and Forsett running all over the place...I vividly remember Desmond Bishop destroying guys left and right...always nice to send a Texas team home bruised...(small consolation since we got it handed to us by TTU and Texas in the respective bowls though.

Larno;841899820 said:

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(3) 2006 Holiday Bowl. Similar to the Citrus Bowl in terms of beating a team that thought they were pretty tough, with a huge power running back. Cal clearly demonstrated they were faster and just as tough.

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Destroying Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl does it for me. We totally out-physicaled them in that laugher of a game. Pimp-slapped them TBH.

Don't forget that Cal's victory over legendary Miami in the 2008 Emerald Bowl gave Tedford a contract extension. Somebody must have thought that particular bowl game was very satisfying...lol.

I think the Citrus Bowl is my fav, but all the other wins made me smile. Last year's Holiday was at the bottom of my favorite list.........

This got me thinking:

The last time we won a bowl game was during the Bush administration.

For those who remember 1991, the Citrus Bowl win was big. We were tremendous underdogs in the eyes of college football. Clemson had a vicious linebacker (McLendon, I think) who bottled everyone up and was going to give the California kiddies nothing but grief. The build up was for a big Cal ass whuppin'. Well, it not only did not happen, but we went out ahead something like 25-0 in the first twenty minutes or so.

My feeling at the time was it was like beating $C, or tOSU this year coming, or a win versus ND in Indiana. It was big, and totally unexpected at the time. Had to be one of the biggest Cal wins of all time in relation to expectation and then commensurate performance.

Larno;841899820 said:

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...of the recent era. So nothing from the 30's or before.

I got to thinking about this after coming across highlights of the '91 Citrus Bowl victory. That plus someone on the CGB commenting on the 2006 Holiday Bowl. So, for the sake of discussion in this down time before the season starts I would like to put forth my list of the most satisfying bowl victories. If anyone wishes to contradict or put out their own list, fine. If not, hey, I'm on vacation this week and everything is fine.

The top tier:

(1) 1991 Citrus Bowl. In my opinion, a no-brainer. Many on this board are not old enough to remember but to me this was so satisfying. Defeating a Southern school that thought that Cal football was not tough and the big bad Clemson boys would just push them around. Coming back after a terrible Big Game loss. Totally frustrating and out-scheming Clemson. Russell White rushing for over a 100 yards against a team that had not given up a 100-yd rusher in several years. Granted, this was a bittersweet victory as Bruce Snyder was gone not long after. But that's another story.

(2) 2003 Insight Bowl. First bowl victory in a long time. Lots of action, game winning field goal. Not the most artistic game as Cal gave up a lot of points, but certainly entertaining.

(3) 2006 Holiday Bowl. Similar to the Citrus Bowl in terms of beating a team that thought they were pretty tough, with a huge power running back. Cal clearly demonstrated they were faster and just as tough.

(4) 1993 Alamo Bowl. A thorough pasting of Iowa. Total dominance on offense and defense.

Second tier:

Of the other victories, I don't have a clear preference for the order. Perhaps the victory over Miami in the Whatever-they-called-it-that-year Bowl, if only because that was the only bowl game I've actually attended. But really, every Cal bowl victory is a good one.

Now, for the bonus round. Anyone remember the Copper Bowl in 1990? Cal's first bowl victory since the 30's. Over Wyoming, and much close than it should have been.

---

All I remember from the Copper Bowl is the $200 speeding ticket I got just past the California Arizona border. I also remember swinging by Vegas on the way home and winning enough to pay for it. 8-)

So many threads over the years waxing nostalgic about our Insight Bowl triumph, or the day we shocked the world beating $C in 2003, or when we got payback on a Texas team in the 2006 Holiday Bowl, or how we clownstomped Iowa in 1993. Man, we need some new, more current memories, homies!!!

Clemson decided to wear purple jerseys for the game. Someone found out that purple was part of their official colors. Bet they haven't worn them since.

They had big Chester McGlockton on the defensive line, but he was a non-factor. Another big lineman, Brentson Buckner I think it was, got tossed for taking a swing at a Cal player in a pileup. That was how frustrated they were.

Bryan Treggs ran back a punt 74 yards for a TD that, although it was in the first half, really put the nail in their coffin.

Mike Pawlawski threw a perfect TD pass to Sean Dawkins off his back foot after slipping and nearly falling down.

Unfortunately, it was the last hurrah for Bruce Snyder at Cal. The month between the terrible Big Game loss and the Citrus Bowl was filled with criticism, and I can only imagine what this site would have been like if it existed then. I have heard, as have many of you, the stories of the Bob Bockrath bungling, but what happened happened and here we are today. Let's see what the son of Bryan Treggs can do. Advance Ursines!

dinan3;841899839 said:

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I think the Citrus Bowl is my fav, but all the other wins made me smile. Last year's Holiday was at the bottom of my favorite list.........

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I think 2004 Holiday is at the bottom for me. Greatly anticipated and then a horrible day, huge disappointment and embarrassment.

Last year, I wanted to beat Texas, but I was prepared...

This is a no brainer. The Citrus Bowl is the most satisfying bowl victory in the modern era. Bottom line--it was the last time Cal played in a bowl game on Jan 1. Thanks for all the "other" bowl games Tedford but win a bowl game on Jan 1 or after and then I'll change my answer.

Larno;841899864 said:

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Clemson decided to wear purple jerseys for the game. Someone found out that purple was part of their official colors. Bet they haven't worn them since.

They had big Chester McGlockton on the defensive line, but he was a non-factor. Another big lineman, Brentson Buckner I think it was, got tossed for taking a swing at a Cal player in a pileup. That was how frustrated they were.

Bryan Treggs ran back a punt 74 yards for a TD that, although it was in the first half, really put the nail in their coffin.

Mike Pawlawski threw a perfect TD pass to Sean Dawkins off his back foot after slipping and nearly falling down.

Unfortunately, it was the last hurrah for Bruce Snyder at Cal. The month between the terrible Big Game loss and the Citrus Bowl was filled with criticism, and I can only imagine what this site would have been like if it existed then. I have heard, as have many of you, the stories of the Bob Bockrath bungling, but what happened happened and here we are today. Let's see what the son of Bryan Treggs can do. Advance Ursines!

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Thanks largo. McClendon/McGlockton----not even close....The brain cells are dying...

run2win;841899881 said:

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This is a no brainer. The Citrus Bowl is the most satisfying bowl victory in the modern era. Bottom line--it was the last time Cal played in a bowl game on Jan 1. Thanks for all the "other" bowl games Tedford but win a bowl game on Jan 1 or after and then I'll change my answer.

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The Citrus Bowl may have been played on January 1, but it was a second tier bowl game then along the lines of the Holiday Bowl in more recent years.

Citrus Bowl had a long tradition behind it and was definitely considered a top/good bowl game considering there were much fewer bowl games back then. Playing on Jan 1 in that time period was considered quality---Insight, Emerald, Poinsettia---yeah not so much.

run2win;841899921 said:

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Citrus Bowl had a long tradition behind it and was definitely considered a top/good bowl game considering there were much fewer bowl games back then. Playing on Jan 1 in that time period was considered quality---Insight, Emerald, Poinsettia---yeah not so much.

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It was more prestigious than the Copper Bowl, but not as prestigious as a BCS bowl is today; kinda like the Holiday (at least, before it was demoted last year). The fact that it was played on the first of the year is not as great as it sounds. There were 18 bowl games that year, and 8 of those were played on Jan 1.

I agree with those that mentioned the Citrus, the 2006 Holiday bowl and the Insight bowl but the 2005 Las Vegas bowl was satisfying as well. First it was a victory over BYU and 2nd it was validation for those of us that thought Tedford should have let Levy play much earlier in the year, instead of sticking with Ayoob. Levy helped lead the Cal to a 35-28 victory.

OdontoBear66;841899849 said:

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For those who remember 1991, the Citrus Bowl win was big. We were tremendous underdogs in the eyes of college football. Clemson had a vicious linebacker (McLendon, I think) who bottled everyone up and was going to give the California kiddies nothing but grief. The build up was for a big Cal ass whuppin'. Well, it not only did not happen, but we went out ahead something like 25-0 in the first twenty minutes or so.

My feeling at the time was it was like beating $C, or tOSU this year coming, or a win versus ND in Indiana. It was big, and totally unexpected at the time. Had to be one of the biggest Cal wins of all time in relation to expectation and then commensurate performance.

---

The Clemson fans may not have had much respect for us, but we were one-point favorites in that game.

Agreed. The Citrus Bowl was not as prestigious as a BCS Bowl is today but back then playing on Jan 1 had much more meaning. Yes, there were 8 games on that day but that was The Day you wanted to play on. Guess we will just disagree. No worries.

Odd. This article says we were a 1 point favorite.

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-01/sports/sp-1118_1_citrus-bowl

1st Copper Bowl
2nd Citrus Bowl
3rd Alamo Bowl

We had not won a bowl for so long, and then we won three in four years, dominating the last two.

Traveling to the Citrus and Alamo Bowls with "Bears in the Air" with Jim "Truck" Cullom and his wife as leaders was great.

Traveling to all three with my late wife, a great Cal fan born and raised in Shanghai, is a memory I will forever cherish!

chitownbear;841899919 said:

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A fast and hard-fought game, and a thrilling conclusion, with the erratic and unlucky Tyler Fredrickson making the biggest kick of his Cal career.
QUOTE]

I always thought Fredrickson had pretty good luck. He was essentially a 50%career FG kicker, but kicked game winners against USC in OT (after getting two blocked in that game) and VaTech right at the end of the Insight Bowl to win that one as well - two of the most memorable games of the early Tedford era.

Contrast that with 2004 Freshman Tom Schneider who earlier missed a FG at USC, forcing us to go for it on 4th down at the end instead of kicking the game tying FG from 25 yards out and taking our chances in OT. Given the way we were outplaying USC, I certainly would have liked our chances in OT.

Win that game, and we wouldn't be having hypothetical arguments over whether the NC Game was bigger than the RB - we would have been opposite Oklahoma that year in the Orange Bowl playing for the NC.

About the Copper Bowl. I think there was some political stuff going on at the time, because Arizona didn't recognize MLK day. Years later, driving across country, I took a break from the road and went to their stadium in Laramie. The big donors had parking spaces with their name on it, and a hitching post in case they wanted to tie their horse up As I walked around the stadium, I saw the score of the 1990 Copper Bowl Cal 16-Wyoming 15. Made me smile!

The score was 17-15

The TV commentators at the Citrus Bowl indicated that Snyder had chatted with Bill Walsh several weeks before the game and Walsh suggested that Cal come out passing and running wide occasionally with reverses, sweeps, etc. to wear out the Clemson DL in the 1st half. And, that's exactly what Snyder did and it worked to perfection.

Larno;841899820 said:

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...of the recent era. So nothing from the 30's or before.

I got to thinking about this after coming across highlights of the '91 Citrus Bowl victory. That plus someone on the CGB commenting on the 2006 Holiday Bowl. So, for the sake of discussion in this down time before the season starts I would like to put forth my list of the most satisfying bowl victories. If anyone wishes to contradict or put out their own list, fine. If not, hey, I'm on vacation this week and everything is fine.

The top tier:

(1) 1991 Citrus Bowl. In my opinion, a no-brainer. Many on this board are not old enough to remember but to me this was so satisfying. Defeating a Southern school that thought that Cal football was not tough and the big bad Clemson boys would just push them around. Coming back after a terrible Big Game loss. Totally frustrating and out-scheming Clemson. Russell White rushing for over a 100 yards against a team that had not given up a 100-yd rusher in several years. Granted, this was a bittersweet victory as Bruce Snyder was gone not long after. But that's another story.

(2) 2003 Insight Bowl. First bowl victory in a long time. Lots of action, game winning field goal. Not the most artistic game as Cal gave up a lot of points, but certainly entertaining.

(3) 2006 Holiday Bowl. Similar to the Citrus Bowl in terms of beating a team that thought they were pretty tough, with a huge power running back. Cal clearly demonstrated they were faster and just as tough.

(4) 1993 Alamo Bowl. A thorough pasting of Iowa. Total dominance on offense and defense.

Second tier:

Of the other victories, I don't have a clear preference for the order. Perhaps the victory over Miami in the Whatever-they-called-it-that-year Bowl, if only because that was the only bowl game I've actually attended. But really, every Cal bowl victory is a good one.

Now, for the bonus round. Anyone remember the Copper Bowl in 1990? Cal's first bowl victory since the 30's. Over Wyoming, and much close than it should have been.

---

IIRC MP getting punched in the Citrus is just about the most telling part of the game. Totally frustrated... punching a QB, and getting ejected. It's just Cal guys.

Anyway, for me it would be:
1. Citrus
2. Holiday
3. Copper
4. Insight


Personally, Citrus was against a real team, in a real game at the end of a season where I mentally blocked out a BG loss for a decade+

Holiday is kind of the same deal. Real team, real bowl, thrashed a team that thought they were tough and we were soft... etc.

Copper showed me that Bowls Do Exist - before that, as a ~10 year olf Cal fan, I basically understood that the Rose Bowl existsed and an LA school was always "picked" to play.

Insight because af the 2002 talk about how we just wanted to get off probation because we had 7 wins, and in 2003 Tedford showed that we were not just a one year turn around.

Good info. Thanks for sharing as I didnt see the telecast.

Can't wait for the season to start?

Check here:

BearInsider's own Video Exchange

Might see other games there you might want to watch.

For me the easy answer is the '06 Holiday Bowl:bravo!

Had Christmas dinner at my brother in laws house before heading to the airport and thinking that my family would be the only CAL fans on the plane only to find out the plane was full of BEARS!

Loved the way the BEARS kicked aggie ass all night after the first drive, don't think I've seen a more agressive and mean D since then. Lynch & Forsett ran through the aggies at will, Longshore played catch with the recievers and Bishop damned near killed the sorry aggie backs.

The BEARS beat a&m in every facet of the game and they did it will a serious attitude!

run2win;841899974 said:

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Agreed. The Citrus Bowl was not as prestigious as a BCS Bowl is today but back then playing on Jan 1 had much more meaning. Yes, there were 8 games on that day but that was The Day you wanted to play on. Guess we will just disagree. No worries.

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Fair enough. My main issue in disagreeing with your original post is that a January 1 or later bowl game was a higher bar for Snyder to get under than it is for Tedford. Because of conference tie-ins, a BCS bowl is our only option to meet that requirement today, where a Pac 10 team could theoretically have been picked for any of the eight January 1 bowls after the 1991 season.

When I asked why someone said they all felt Clemson was certain to win.It was the best.

True. However, the bowl games (well ok except for the Holiday) that Tedford has been able to put on his resume are a joke. Yes, I'd rather go to a joke bowl game than no bowl game but I want Tedford to win something substantial.