Arizona Wildcats Host California Golden Bears In Pac 10 Showdown
The Arizona Wildcats (4-2 SU, 4-2 ATS, 3-3 O/U) are coming off a narrow 24-23 road loss to Stanford on Saturday and host a California Golden Bears (4-1 SU, 4-1 ATS, 3-2 O/U) team that has won two straight games in the BetUS Sportsbook, including a convincing 24-14 win over Arizona State on Oct. 4.
Both Pac-10 teams be trying to pick up a huge win on Saturday when they meet at Arizona Stadium at 10PM Eastern Time.
Arizona senior quarterback Willie Tuitama completed 22 of 34 passes for 259 yards but the Wildcats were held to just one offensive touchdown in their loss to Stanford as sophomore tailback Nic Grigsby ran for 66 yards on 15 carries and the team’s lone offensive score in the loss as the Wildcats failed to cover as 7-point road favorites.
The Wildcats, the highest scoring team in the Pac-10, were forced to settle for field goals after making two long fourth-quarter drives that each got inside the Cardinal five-yard line.
“We ended up kicking field goals instead of getting touchdowns, and that’s something we haven’t done all season long,” Tuitama said. “We definitely should have done better.”
California senior quarterback Nate Longshore completed 17 of 28 passes for 198 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, as the Golden Bears covered as 9.5-point home favorites.
The Golden Bears also forced Arizona State into three turnovers while limiting the Sun Devils to just 236 total yards.
“With the defense playing like that, we just have to go out there and make sure we don’t waste what they’re doing,” Longshore said. “As an offense, we need to do better, but every win in a Pac-10 game is special.”
Here is a look at the key trends for each team, followed by my in-depth analysis and NCAAF Free Picks.
California is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
California is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
California is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Arizona
California is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Arizona
Arizona is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Arizona is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Arizona is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games
Arizona is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
NCAAF Odds
California Golden Bears -2 -110
Arizona Wildcats +2 -110
Analysis: California may be the nationally-ranked team in this matchup, but I like the Arizona Wildcats to win this contest in what looks like a classic field goal type of game. While Arizona blew several golden opportunities to put away Stanford by failing to get in the end zone after getting inside the 20-yard-line, I say they will capitalize on their miscues this time around while narrowly covering the spread as home underdogs.
