Cal, TCU trade four straight interceptions in ugly bowl game

The first half of Wednesday’s Cheez-It Bowl between Cal and TCU was about as sloppy as it gets.

During about a four-minute stretch from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second, the Golden Bears and Horned Frogs traded interceptions on four straight possessions. Here’s a look at three of the interceptions:

ESPN went to commercial showing 3 of the 5 INTs in this game pic.twitter.com/UKkbBugg7Q

— #NobodyDied (@ftbeard_17) December 27, 2018

The four straight interceptions actually made it five for the game at that point, as TCU had one on their second possession. Watching the game was particularly maddening, because the fourth and fifth ones came on the second play of the offensive series, which meant they traded turnovers a minute apart.

There is something that explains the turnovers besides just there being strong defenses. TCU was on their third-string quarterback — Grayson Muehlstein — who was making just the second start of his career. Despite his inexperience, you’d like to see more competent quarterback play than this.