With it being the last of the developmental practices before the Bears get into Illinois on a more detailed level, the Bears had to go out with a little bit of competition from their younger guys. There was a two point conversion, to determine whether the offense or defense would have to run after practice.

In the end, it was a local connection that sent the offense into some hysterics, as the quarterback was live (could be hit) during the final play.

"Offense ran a little play action, Robby (Rowell) threw it in the corner of the end zone to Nick Alftin for the win," Justin Wilcox noted.

Cal did finish up their pre-Christmas practice schedule (with the announcement of a handful of players being out), as they'll move to a schedule more consistent with a game week starting Thursday.

With guys being out, Daniel Scott is set to be the beneficiary, with a start likely coming in the bowl for him.

"He's made some plays on special teams, earned some plays on defense," Wilcox said, "he's done a nice job. Another guy you could see (at safety) is Elijah Hicks, he's done really well training in that role, being a swing guy for us."

Ben Hawk Schrider, Orin Patu, Braxten Croteau, Makai Polk, and Ricky Walker should all see more time in the bowl, based on who's out.

Offensive Line

The offensive line is as healthy as they've been all year, and they've come together in more ways than just one. Mike Saffell has joined the rest of his fellow linemen in getting his hair dyed blond.

"It's awesome, mom hates it," Saffell noted, "she was worried, all the kids were doing it together, and she made me go to the salon to do it. I have a pretty funny story from it, there was a little girl sitting there, she was like 'is he bleaching his hair mommy?' She's five with her mom, I'm like 'yeah, I'm bleaching my hair,' she's like, 'but you're a man?' I'm like, 'yeah, I know, I didn't choose this,' but commitment to the team. Everyone's bleached now, so we're rocking with it."

"I think for some of the young guys, the girls left already," Saffell joked, "so they're not too worried about it."

The entire group has some hair bleached (right tackle Jake Curhan bleached his beard instead of the hair atop his head), and it's been a sign of buy-in for them. That has been reflected in their play, as the offensive line is making it difficult for the defense.

"You see it the past couple of weeks, the offensive line is coming off the ball real hard," Luc Bequette said, "they've been giving really good looks, and I think they're going to have a good game against Illinois."

In addition, offensive lineman Everett Johnson got a head start on enrolling early, going through these past four practices after signing last Wednesday.

"It's hard to tell, because there's not a ton of devo stuff because we're putting in Illinois," Saffell said, "he bleached his hair blond before we got here (Johnson is blond already, this was a joke), so he's already really fitting in. Obviously you can see by his size, he's massive, very athletic, moves real well."

Other Notes:

- Bequette is one of the few with experience in Champaign, Illinois, having lived there for six years. He noted that his baseball team (the year Bequette won a little league home run derby) went undefeated, winning the Twin Cities championship

"It's one of the brightest moments in my athletic career," Bequette said.

- Cal will practice one more time at Memorial Stadium Thursday, before moving their practices to City College of San Francisco in the leadup to the bowl game.