Oregon
vs.
Cal
College Football Pick
10/21/16
By Jason Green
Oregon won their first 2 Games of the season, but they have lost 4 straight and they are in the bottom of the Pac 12 North at 0-3. OUt of 128 teams in the FBS the Ducks rank 125th in the nation on defense and that D has been really terrible in their last 2 Games giving up 70 and 50 points. They head to Berkeley where they are a 3-point road underdog facing a .500 Cal team.
The Golden Bears have dropped 2 of their last 3 Games and they have also have their issues on the defensive side of the football ranking 123rd in opponents points allowed. They are led by their aerial attack averaging 377.8 passing yards per Game, which ranks 4th in the nation.
Oregon was throttled in their last Game losing to Washington 70-21 and they did not come close covering as a 10-point home underdog. Cal lost a tough last Game falling on the road 47-44 in OT to Oregon State and they did not cover, as a 13.5-point favorite.
Oregon’s strength is running the ball and they did have 230 rushing yards in the loss to Washington, but they gave up 682 total yards. Taj Griffin and Tony-Brooks James had 60 yards on the ground in the Game while leading rusher for the team Royce Griffin was held to 50 rushing yards. QB Dakota Prukop has a hand injury, but he will go in this Game. He got off to a good start to the season, but in the last 4 Games he only has 2 passing TD and he also has been picked off twice.
Oregon should hit the ground running in this Game facing a Cal run D that was torched in the Oregon State Game giving up 474 rushing yards and only ranks 121st in the nation.
For most of the season the Golden Bears have relied on QB Davis Webb to move the chains with his arm. However, in the loss to Oregon State they ran the ball with Khalifani Muhammad rushing for 165 yards and Tre Watson rushing for 134 yards. While they did get the loss in their last Game they may want to stay on the ground, as Oregon ranks 2nd to last in the nation defending the run and a solid 20th defending the pass.
Oregon is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Conference Games, 0-7-1 ATS in their last 8 Games overall, and in their last 5 Games on the road the posted total has gone Over 4 times.
Cal is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Conference Games, 9-20 ATS in their last 29 home Games, and in their last 8 Games the posted total has gone Over 7 times.
Bettorsworld Pick – We have this Game as being a shootout decided by only a couple of points with a total number of points scored close to 120. In that type of a setup, the only way to look for us is with the dog. Oregon +3