Week 4: Bears vs Wildcats Picks
Week 4 college betting action sees the California Golden Bears taking on the Arizona Wildcats down in Arizona. Cappers Picks provides free college football handicapping tips all season long.
The Bears are 2-0 to start the year, but they’ve had the luxury of facing non-conference opponents up to this point. Although the same can be said about the Wildcats (3-0), they have the more talented roster.
College Football Odds
California Golden Bears (2-0) vs. Arizona Wildcats (3-0)
Saturday, Sept. 20
10:00 PM ET
Arizona Stadium
Pac-12 Network
College Football Betting Lines: Arizona -9.5
O/U: 70.5
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California
The California Golden Bears have looked good in their early-season contests. They’ve taken down Northwestern and Sacramento State to the tun of 31-24 and 55-14, respectively, and they’ve done it while playing well on both sides of the ball.
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Offensively, Cal is throwing for 313.0 yards per game, which is good enough for 27th in the nation. On the ground, the team is compiling 184.5 yards per contest, which is good enough for 53rd.
In total, the team is scoring 43 points per game, which is good enough for 23rd nationwide, and it’s complemented nicely by the fact that it’s allowing just 19.0 points each week — the 31st-best number in the country.
While the defensive number is impressive, if not imposing, you have to remember the teams Cal has earned that number against: Northwestern and Sacramento State.
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Against Arizona, the Golden Bears will have to play with a fierce tenacity consider the game is on the road and that the Wildcats are an extremely versatile team both throwing and running the football.
Arizona
Through the air, Arizona has completed 314.3 yards per game. That number is good enough for 24th in the nation, but the ground game has been even more effective when comparing the number nationwide.
With the three-headed running game of Nick Wilson, Terris Jones-Grigsby and quarterback Anu Solomon, the team has cemented itself as a top-20 program in terms of yards per game on the ground. It’s averaging 268.3 yards per contest in that category, which makes it the 20th-best across the nation.
Defensively, Arizona is giving up only 21.3 points per game. That number is good enough for 47th in country.
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As good as the rushing game has been, it’s been the consistency throwing the ball that has allowed the Wildcats to utilize such a dangerous ground attack. Quarterback Anu Solomon has nearly racked up 1,000 yards through three weeks, and he’s done it while throwing eight touchdowns to just one interception.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends:
- CAL are 2-12 ATS in their last 14 conference games.
- CAL are 3-11 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
- Under is 9-3 in CAL last 12 games on grass.
- Under is 7-1 in ARIZ last 8 home games.
- ARIZ are 3-9 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
- Under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.
Week 4 NCAA Football
California has looked good, but that’s likely a byproduct of its early-season schedule. Northwestern, the Bears’ first opponent, is 0-2 following a Sept. 6 loss to North Illinois, and Sacramento State, Cal’s second opponent, has only found victories against Incarnate Word and Weber State.
Free NCAA Betting Pick: 4* Arizona -9.5
Arizona should be a different beast for California, and you should see it walk away with a double-digit victory.
Check out our Updated College Football Week 4 Odds.
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