California Golden Bears at Washington Huskies
Husky Stadium – Seattle, Washington
Saturday, September 24, 2011, 3:30 pm Eastern, TV: Fox Sports Net
Opening Line: Washington -3
Current Line: Washington -1
Opening Total: 54
Current Total: 58 1/2
Opening Money Line: Washington -120 / California +100
Current Money Line: Washington -110 / California -110
Washington and California open up play against each other in the new Pac 12 Conference. California is 3-0 under coach Jeff Tedford with wins over Fresno St 36-21, at Colorado 36-33 in OT, and last week the Bears crushed Presbyterian 63-12. Washington is 2-1 with wins over Eastern Washington 30-27 and Hawaii 40-32. Last week Washington, coached by Steve Sarkisian lost at Nebraska 51-38.
Washington and Cal are meeting for the 91st time. Washington has won the last 2 overall against Cal and the last two in Seattle. The Huskies lead the series, 48-38-4. Washington won last year in Berkeley 16-13, in a game that kept Cal out of a bowl game. It was the last game of the season and was part of a three game losing streak for the Bears.
California destroyed Presbyterian last week 63-12. The Golden Bears held the Blue Hose to 48 total yards, and 3 first downs. All of Presbyterian’s scoring came on a blocked field goal and an interception that were returned for touchdowns. They missed an extra point and a two point conversion. California had 581 total yards including 285 rushing yards. California did have 10 penalties and two turnovers in the win.
The Golden Bears are averaging 456 total yards and 45 points a game. Cal is averaging 277.3 passing yards a game. Cal has 4 turnovers and has allowed 5 sacks. The Bears are 23/47 on third and fourth down conversions. Cal is holding opponents to 282.7 total yards and 65 rushing yards a game. Bear opponents are scoring 22 points. The Bears have forced 11 sacks and 4 turnovers. Cal opponents are 12/49 on third and fourth down conversions.
Cal quarterback Zach Maynard is 49/95 passing with 724 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also has 13 carries for 49 yards. Running back Isi Sofele has 61 carries for 277 yards and 4 touchdowns. C.J. Anderson has 13 carries, 93 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Receiver Keenan Allen has 20 catches for 301 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Marvin Jones has 17 catches, 296 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Anthony Miller has only 5 catches but two of them went for touchdowns. Kicker Giorgio Tavecchio is 15/18 on extra points and 2/2 on field goals with a long of 40 yards.
Washington was down 20-17 last week at halftime at Nebraska. However, the Cornhuskers scored 24 unanswered points to take a 44-17 lead. Nebraska ended up winning 51-38, but Washington covered the 17 point college football betting line. Washington had 3 turnovers and 9 penalties in the loss. The Huskies had 420 total yards including 274 passing yards. Nebraska had 464 total yards including 309 rushing yards. Washington had no answer for Cornhusker quarterback Taylor Martinez who had 283 total yards passing and rushing along with 3 touchdowns.
Washington is averaging 378.7 yards and 36 points a game. The Huskies are averaging 230.3 passing yards a game. Washington has 4 turnovers and allowed 7 sacks this season. The Huskies are 19/43 on third and fourth down conversions. The Huskies are allowing 452 yards and 36.7 points. The Huskies are allowing 320.3 passing yards a game. The Huskies have forced 7 turnovers and 5 sacks this season. Washington opponents are 26/48 on third and fourth down conversions this season.
Husky quarterback Keith Price is 56/87 passing with 691 yards, 11 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions. He is listed as probable with a knee injury for the Cal game. Running back Chris Pol has been a little disappointing this season with 67 carries, 362 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with 3 catches for 27 yards. Wide receiver Devin Aguilar has 11 receptions for 181 yards, and a touchdown. James Johnson has 12 catches, 155 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Jermaine Kearse has 8 catches for 107 yards, and 4 touchdowns. Kicker Erik Folk (younger brother of the Jets’ kicker Nick) is perfect on kicks this season with 5 field goals and a long of 53 yards. The Husky secondary has been bitten by the injury bug with 4 players listed as either probable or questionable against Cal.
Both Cal and Washington are 2-1 against the spread this season. All three of Cal’s games have gone over this season and Washington has 2 overs and a push in 3 games. The Huskies have covered twice in a row versus the Golden Bears and both games have gone under the total. Cal is 12-4 ATS in the last 16 September games, 1-5 ATS in their last 6 conference games, 1-4 in their last 5 games on turf, and 0-4 in their last 4 road games. Washington is 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall, 3-0-1 in their last 4 conference games, and against a team with a winning record, and 4-0 ATS following a cover in the last 4. The Huskies are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games.
Washington struggled to beat Eastern Washington and Hawaii to open the season. They lost at Nebraska last week by 13. Cal hasn’t had that difficult a schedule, even though Fresno is decent. The Bears won in overtime at a rebuilding Colorado team, but Boulder is a tough place to play because of the altitude. I think Cal is the more balanced team, but Husky Stadium will be rocking. Neither of these teams will compete with Oregon or Stanford for the Pac 12 North Division title, but could compete for a bowl berth. This should be a close game. I expect a lot more points between these two teams than they have recently against each other.
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