NCAA Football Odds: Arizona vs California

Written November 13, 2009 by Rock Henderson

The 17th ranked Arizona Wildcats will look to continue their amazing Pac-10 run when they hit the road to take on the California Golden Bears after three straight wins at home. Cal will most likely be without All-American running back Jahvid Best who suffered his second concussion in eight days against Oregon State. Mike Stoops has Wildcat nation smelling roses as they are sitting tied atop the conference with Oregon at 4-1. They do still have to play the Ducks and USC, but a win here could give them the momentum they need for next week’s match-up at home against the Ducks. According to our college football lines, Cal is a 3 point favorite.

Arizona is one play away from being 5-0 in the Pac-10 and controlling their own destiny. A fluke interception off a wide receivers leg that was returned for a touchdown cost the Wildcats a win at Washington. They have bounced back nicely and a quarterback change at the beginning of the season had paid dividends. QB Nick Foles stepped in for Mike Scott after the loss at Iowa and has thrown for 1535 yards, completed over 71% of his passes and tossed 12 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. Scott was mainly a running quarterback so Foles gives them something they had been missing. Rushing is not a problem for the Cats as they rank 18th nationally. Led by scat back Nic Grigsby and his 7.5 yards per carry, Arizona has four players averaging over 30 yards a game. WR Terrell Turner has been Foles favorite target in the passing game as the senior has snatched 38 balls for 38 yards and four touchdowns. As a team, the Wildcats are averaging over 32 points per game and giving up around 22. Their defense is one of the fastest in the Pac-10 and thrive on turnovers. They will have their hands full with an explosive Cal offense even without Best at running back. Get a $20 free play that you can use this season to do your college football betting when you open a new account with Sportsbook.com.

Not only did Cal lose their star player last weekend most likely for the rest of the season, they were dominated by a very good Oregon State team at home 31-14 putting their conference record at 3-3. RB Shane Vereen is fully capable of stepping in for the injured best and putting up big numbers. The sophomore back has rushed for 386 yards and six scores while averaging over five yards per carry. The experience he will gain in the last three games will be valuable as he is pegged to take over for Best if he goes pro. QB Kevin Riley has thrown the ball 78 times the last two weeks and should continue to get many opportunities to make plays through the air. Head coach Jeff Tedford is notorious for turning out NFL ready quarterbacks and Riley’s numbers are noteworthy. He has thrown for 2005 yards and 14 touchdowns while being intercepted only three times. Cal’s 27th ranked rush defense will need to bring its “A” game to stop down the potent Wildcat running attack. Golden Bear CB Syd’Quan Thompson is a lockdown defender who can single handily change a game.

Vegas has had trouble all season long pegging this California Golden Bears team. One week they look like a top ten squad and the next they look average. Expect Cal to play inspired ball with the injury to Best and having a full week to practice without him will be huge in this game. Arizona has exceeded expectations to this point, but the joy ride will stop here. Kevin Riley has to make big plays in the passing game for Cal to pull off the upse and I believe he does. Play: Cal -3

You can get winning football picks all season long from the award-winning handicappers at Betfirms. You won’t find a better place online to get expert college football picks.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

No comments yet, but your thoughts are welcome!

Comments

Got something to say?