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Oregon St. Beavers vs. Cal Golden Bears Week 8 Betting Predictions & Preview

OSU vs Cal NCAA Football Odds

The Oregon State Beavers took down a dominant offensive team with a potent air attack last week when they defeated the Washington State Cougars 52-24. The score really didn’t get out of hand until late in the contest, but a huge fourth quarter gave them the win they needed to improve to 5-1.

Oregon State (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) @ California (1-5, 0-3 Pac-12)
Saturday, Oct. 19 10:30 PM ET @ Memorial Stadium
Moneyline: N/A
Spread: Oregon State -10.5
O/U: 68.5

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Now they’ll look to keep the same story alive against the California Golden Bears—another team with a potent passing game.

Oregon State

The Beavers have done a masterful job of recovering from their early season blunder against Eastern Washington. They’ve gone 5-0 in their last five outings, and they have a legitimate Heisman candidate running the show in Sean Mannion.

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Mannion is throwing the ball at an incredible rate this season. He’s tossed for 2,511 yards so far on the year (No. 1 in the nation), and he’s completed 25 touchdowns (also No. 1 by a long shot). What’s been most impressive about Mannion is his accuracy. He has just three interceptions on the season, and he is completing 67.1 percent of his passes.

As good as Mannion has been throwing the ball, every good quarterback needs a No. 1 target. In the case of OSU, that is Brandin Cooks. The junior leads the nation in receiving yards with 944, and he has 11 touchdowns to show for it (also No. 1). Cooks and Mannion have connected 63 times through the air, which is the most by any quarterback-receiver combo.

Defensively, the Beavers must prepared once again for an offensive attack that will be focused through the air.

California is fifth in the nation in passing yards per game, and quarterback Jared Goff is the biggest reason why. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

California

Goff, a freshman quarterback, is fourth in the country in passing yards. His No. 1 target has been Chris Harper, but the two have yet to find the same connection that Mannion and Cooks have had up to this juncture.

As much as the Golden Bears might want to focus on the running game to surprise the Beavers, the plan at this point has to be sticking with what has been successful—the passing game.

The team is just 1-5 on the season, and they’re 108th in rushing yards per game. The good news for Cal fans is that Oregon State has been even less effective on the ground. The Beavers are averaging a measly 73.7 yards per contest in the running game, which is 122nd in the nation.

The difference between these two squads is that Oregon State has been effective when it comes to scoring the football, while Cal has yet to convert all of those passing yards into points.

Cal is averaging just 24.8 points per game, while Oregon State is 12th in the nation at 43.3.

If you’re a fan of Cal, cross your fingers that one of two things happens. Either you must get pressure on Mannion and Cooks, forcing them out of their comfort zone, or the Beavers’ defense must have a total breakdown.

The latter is the more likely to happen, but even so, expect the road team to come away with a double-digit victory.

Score Prediction: Oregon State 44 – California 24

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"