Bears more often than not fall into bear traps, but sometimes your smarter-than-the-av-er-age-bear bear turns the tables on you and steals your pic-a-nic basket. Which is what the California Golden Bears intend to do with the Washington Huskies on Saturday, November 5th at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, though in order to accomplish that they would have to upset NCAA football betting odds:
Washington U -17 (-110) 78 (-110) -850
California +17 (-110) 78 (-110) +575
The Huskies (8-0) went back and forth with the Utah Utes on Saturday. The two teams were tied at 24 points apiece with 9:07 to go in regulation when Washington had the Utes pinned on their own 1 on QB Jake Browning’s pooch punt – which is not the same, nor is anywhere near as fun, as punting a pooch. Utah went three-and-out but punted the ball straight to Huskies wide receiver Dante Pettis, who duly returned it for a 58-yard TD with 3:25 remaining. Washington won the game 31-24 to remain undefeated as well as a NCAA football betting favorite.
The Golden Bears (4-4) have been hit-and-miss this season, and their latest miss was a 24-45 loss to the USC Trojans. “We looked like a tired, beat-up football team and we were,” California head coach Sonny Dykes said. Dykes? Yikes! Cal allowed 451 yards on 46 plays in the first half but stayed in the game thanks to two fumbles by opposing QB Sam Darnold. Golden Bears defensive end James Looney returned one of said fumbles to the Trojans 22, where running back Tre Watson took a screen pass into the end zone. California had a chance to get ahead in the scoreboard on its fourth play from scrimmage, but wide receiver Demetris Robertson dropped a potential 64-yard touchdown that hit him in the hands.
The Huskies are averaging 46.1 points, 224 rushing yards, and 249.9 passing yards per game. Browning is completing 67.7% of his passes for 1895 yards, 28 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Running back Myles Gaskin has rushed for 878 yards and 7 touchdowns, and Lavon Coleman has 492 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver John Ross III has 38 receptions for 534 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Pettis has 29 receptions for 470 yards and 8 TDs. The Washington defense is allowing 15.8 points, 153.9 rushing yards, and 171.9 passing yards per game. LB Azeem Victor has 64 tackles and three tackles for loss, while OLB Joe Mathis has 25 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks. Kicker Cameron ‘Rip’ Van Winkle is 7 of 10 on field goals.
The Golden Bears average 41.2 points, 170.9 rushing yards, and 365.6 passing yards per game. QB Davis Webb has completed 62.4% of his passes for 2914 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. Running back Khalfani Muhammad has 614 yards and two touchdowns, while Watson has 484 yards and two TDs. Chad Hansen has 59 catches for 770 yards and 8 touchdowns, and Robertson has 35 receptions for 469 yards and 6 touchdowns. California is yielding 41.8 points, 286.6 rushing yards, and 219.2 passing yards per game. LB Raymon Davison has 56 tackles and one interception, and defensive end Cameron Saffle has 40 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Matt Anderson is 13 of 15 on field goals.
NCAA football betting-wise, the Huskies are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games in November, and 7-3 ATS in their previous 10 games on turf. The Golden Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games and 1-5 ATS in their last six November games. The football betting site advantage goes to the Huskies.
