College Football Betting Odds: Cal -3, Total Points 53
A very interesting matchup of two middle-tier West Coast teams will take place in San Diego, when the Utah Utes and the Cal Golden Bears square off in the Poinsettia Bowl.
For Cal, it has been somewhat of a disappointing season, in a year when many expected them to contend for a Pac-10 crown. Offensively, they have and always will be led by a pro-style running game, which this year produced two 800 yards rushers.
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Jahvid Best was the guy who got most of the carries early, although after suffering a concussion, Shane Vereen stepped in nicely as his replacement. It is uncertain how much Best will be able to contribute, but expect Vereen to have no problem picking up his slack.
Here are some NCAA football betting trends which may impact this game:
Utah: 22-3 SU in their last 25 games
Utah: 3-1 ATS in their last 4 games
Utah: The total has gone UNDER in 7 of their last 9 games
Cal: 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games
Cal: 11-4 SU in their last 15 games
Cal: The total has gone UNDER in 4 of their last 5 games
In the three games down the stretch where he was forced into action, Vereen rushed for 159, 193 and 92 yards. At quarterback Kevin Riley started every game, throwing for 2600 yards and 17 touchdowns. While his interception total decreased dramatically, it is important to note that the junior still completed just 54 percent of his passes.
On defense, Cal runs a traditional 4-3 defense, and is totally underrated as a unit. They allowed just 118 yards on the ground per game, and even in an embarrassing loss to Washington to close the season, were picked apart mostly through the air. Defensive tackle Tyson Alalau will be a first day NFL Draft pick in June.
Now onto the Utah Utes. While their season wasn’t quite the storybook of 2008, considering how much talent they lost Kyle Wittingham did a commendable job getting the Utes to nine wins. Partway through the year, they handed the quarterbacking duties to freshman Jordan Wynn, and he didn’t disappoint, leading them to three big wins, as well as a tough overtime loss to BYU. Wynn is joined in the backfield by Eddie Wide, a 1000 yard rusher, who went over 100 yards in seven games this year.
As is always the case with Utah, they played stern defense this year, ranking in the top 20 nationally in total defense (20th) and scoring defense (19th). This will actually be one of the better units that Cal has faced all year.
So who has the edge in this one? Well both have won four straight bowl games, so something has to give in that department. My guess is that even tough Cal might not overly excited to be in this game, they come ready to play. The Golden Bears have a bunch of seniors this year, and after the way they ended the regular season against Washington, I just can’t imagine they want to go out with two straight losses.
I expect the Bears to win a close one, but also cover the college football betting odds in this one.
Our Pick: Cal -3