California Golden Bears at No. 9 Oregon Ducks (-24), Total 63 |
California will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season in traveling off a bye week to Eugene, Oregon, to take on the Ducks inside Autzen Stadium. The Golden Bears nearly pulled off a monumental upset in last year’s meeting, falling 15-13 as 18.5-point home underdogs.
The game figures to be decided when Oregon’s powerful running game that is leading the Pac-12 Conference goes against the Cal defense that ranks second amongst conference members in stopping the ground attack.
Playing against ranked competition is nothing new for this program, as Cal has tallied a respectable 13-17 record against such opponents under current head coach Jeff Tedford. It’s important to point out that the program has dropped eight straight games against teams in the top 10.
Kennan Allen and Marvin Jones rank third and sixth, respectively, in the Pac-12 in both per-game receptions and receiving yards. Both also share the team lead with three touchdown catches.
Running back Isi Sofele has a great shot at breaking the 1,000-yard rushing mark, coming into this contest with a career high 380 yards in the first four games, as his 95 yard average per game ranks 38th nationally.
College football sports book bettors will find that the Golden Bears are 12-15 ATS over the last two-plus campaigns, while the ‘over’ is 14-13 over that span.
Oregon has won its last 13 conference games and 18 in a row inside Thursday’s venue, averaging 49.5 points per game over that stretch of games in front of the home fans. The Ducks lead the nation in scoring at 52.0 points a contest, averaging 59.9 points per contest over its past eight games at Autzen Stadium.
Running back LaMichael James is really getting it going, leading the country in rushing and all-purpose yards, while also being fourth in scoring. Quarterback Darron Thomas has really opened things up for him, as opponents must respect the passing game.
The offensive line has been a real strength, leading the country in sacks allowed, which will come into play when facing a Cal Bears defense that ranks ninth in that category, averaging 3.25 sacks a contest.
Oregon’s defense ranks sixth in the conference and 59th nationally in allowing 24.5 points a game, while the defense has allowed 389.5 total yards a game.
Before making your college football betting picks, take into account that the Ducks are 1-5 ATS when playing on Thursdays, while the Golden Bears are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.
