The college football season has hit the midpoint in 2019, and it is shaping up to be one of the best yet. The SEC and Big Ten conferences both look dominant with a few teams that could make it to the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma out of the Big 12 could find itself contending for a national championship as well, seeing as Jalen Hurts is on pace to win Oklahoma’s third straight Heisman Trophy.
One conference that has been struggling is the Pac-12. In terms of the national spotlight, there has yet to be much to speak of with West Coast teams. A couple of them are ranked in the Top 25, but they have yet to prove they belong in the College Football Playoff.
This article will be previewing a game between two teams from the Pac-12 who had a lot of expectations placed on them before the 2019 season.
The California Golden Bears will be traveling up to the Pacific Northwest to take on the 13th-ranked Oregon Ducks. Both these teams only have one loss on the season, but we will break down the matchup and help you to determine the best bets for this game.
Big Test
For Cal, this will be their biggest test of the season so far. Earlier in the season, they traveled up to take on the Washington Huskies on the road and squeaked out a 20-19 victory.
While that was an impressive win, going up and into Oregon and beating the Ducks would be an incredible feat. The Bears are also coming off of a loss in their last outing against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
This loss for them was surprising, seeing as Arizona State was unranked, and they were at home. Unfortunately, part of the problem was the loss of starting quarterback Chase Garbers to a shoulder injury during the contest. That will lead to UCLA transfer Devon Modster making his first collegiate start in this one.
One thing that won’t be surprising is how good the Bears’ run game is with Christopher Brown Jr. Brown has nearly 400 yards on the season and three rushing touchdowns as well. He has helped provide a consistent threat for their offense and is someone that the defense will always have to keep on their radar.
Flying High
Speaking of defense, Oregon’s has been surprisingly sound so far this season. They have managed to hold opponents to under 300 yards per game and continually lock them down.
Their only loss of the season came in the opener against the Auburn Tigers, and that game was a coin flip by the end of it.
Oregon has looked fantastic overall, and Justin Herbert has had an incredible season at quarterback. He has thrown for 1,127 yards and 14 passing touchdowns on the year.
With Herbert looking like one of the top prospects at quarterback for the 2020 NFL Draft, I can’t picture a scenario where the Ducks lose this game at home.
Oregon is favored in this at a whopping -18, and I think the spread is actually fair here. Oregon is at home, they have put together three consistently dominant victories in a row, and Herbert looks like a stud.
I like Oregon to win this game, but I would be cautious for them covering this spread. The Golden Bears are a solid football team and have proven they can go on the road against ranked opponents this season.
I understand the reasoning for the spread, but California is better than these numbers indicate.
Game Pick
Even with the high spread, I still take Oregon to win this game. They have much more talent than California on both sides of the ball and will look to dominate at home.
Make sure to lock in your bets before kickoff!
