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Poinsettia Bowl: Utes vs. Golden Bears Predictions

The Utah Utes and the California Golden Bears will both be trying to pick up a win when they battle at Qualcomm Stadium in the Poinsettia Bowl. Oddsmakers currently have the Golden Bears listed as 3-point favorites versus the Utes, while the game’s total is sitting at 52½…

2009 POINSETTIA BOWL – UTAH UTES (9-3) vs. CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (8-4)

Event: Poinsettia Bowl
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 23, 8:00 pm EST
Site: San Diego, CA
MY Sportsbook.com LINE: Cal -3

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Team records:
Utah: 9-3 SU, 5-7 ATS
California: 8-4 SU, 5-6 ATS

Preview:

The Poinsettia Bowl pits a strong Mountain West conference candidate in Utah against the Cal Golden Bears, a middle power in the Pac-10.

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After USC, a program leaps and bounds in front of other conference foes in terms of talent, the Bears have one of the more talented teams in the conference. They have, however, suffered through some injuries, notably to star running back Jahvid Best.

Of the Golden Bears’ eight wins, a few of them were nice efforts versus strong in-conference foes. They have not rode momentum, though, getting rolled by Washington in the last game of the regular season, 42-10. Cal’s defense has been fairly uninspiring but they have a nice offensive nucleus with QB Kevin Riley, WR Marvin Jones and the two-headed monster at tailback of Best and Shane Vereen.

Conversely, Utah won the games it was supposed to on its schedule and posted valiant efforts in their losses (read: falling to BYU in OT and coming up a touchdown short versus Rose Bowl-playing Oregon). Utah plays some strong defense anchored by defensive lineman Christian Cox and Koa Misi and linebacker Stevenson Sylvester.

If the Utes can stoke up a high-octane defensive effort and get their treasure chest of junior college transfers to put some points on the board offensively, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Utah pull the upset in this game.

The way I see it breaking down – California has been alternately inspired and listless (losing by 27+ points to USC and Oregon) throughout 2009; Utah has consistently risen to the challenge and given teams a tough game.

Look for much of the same in San Diego before Christmas.

2009 Team Stats

Total Offense: Utah 54th
California 46th

Total Defense: Utah 20th
California 70th

Trends:
Utah is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Utah’s last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of California’s last 5 games
California is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games
California is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games

Pick: Utah -5.5

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James has been naming every player on the EA Sports NCAA video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. As always you’re comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!

By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!

2 replies on “Poinsettia Bowl: Utes vs. Golden Bears Predictions”

I was more impressed with Utah this season than I was with Cal.

The Golden Bears did beat Stanford and Arizona State, but getting blown out by Washington in their final regular season game has given me cause for concern in this game.

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