West Coast Tip Sheet
By Brad Young
The college football regular season ends Saturday, and there are some quality matchups on the West Coast although most of the attention will be on the SEC and Big XII title games. Saturday’s results will go a long way in determining the pairing for the upcoming bowl season.
Washington is playing out the string, and is still searching for its first victory of the year. Tyrone Willingham will be coaching his last game with the Huskies after being let go after his dismal campaign in Seattle. California is slated for the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, and will finish in fourth place in the Pac-10 with a victory.
Southern Cal is going to wear its home red uniforms for its road game against UCLA, reviving a tradition where both teams wore home uniforms until 1982. The Trojans will be docked a timeout, but UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel said he will burn a timeout at the beginning of the game. USC appears headed to another Rose Bowl appearance on New Year’s Day to take on Big Ten champ Penn State. Should the Trojans lose to the Bruins, then Oregon State appears headed to Pasadena.
The winner of the ‘Duel in the Desert’ between rivals Arizona and Arizona State will play in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Wildcats are hoping for revenge after needing a victory over the Sun Devils the past two years to become bowl eligible. Arizona State won both games, but now needs a victory in this spot to reach six wins and advance to the postseason.
Hawaii home games are the most bet college games on the board, with gamblers trying to recover from earlier losses. The Warriors and Cincinnati Bearcats are already bowl eligible, with no recent history between these two programs.
Now let’s take a closer look at these four matchups.
**Washington at California**
-The Las Vegas Hilton installed California as a decided 35-point home ‘chalk’ over Washington, with the total set at 51. FOX Sports Net will provide coverage of Saturday’s contest beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.
-Washington (0-11 straight up, 1-10 against the spread) hasn’t played since November 22 when the team lost the Apple Cup to rival Washington State in double overtime as a 10-point road favorite, 16-13. The combined 29 points never seriously threatened the 47-point closing total, helping the ‘under’ cash the third consecutive contest with a total posted.
-The Huskies entered halftime leading 10-0, and finished the contest with advantages in first downs (20-15), rushing yards (224-171) and time of possession (35:26-24:34). Quarterback Ronnie Fouch was 11-of-16 passing for 99 yards with an interception, while Willie Griffin had 26 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown.
-California (7-4 SU, 8-3 ATS) snapped a two-game SU losing skid by dismantling Stanford in The Big Game as an eight-point home ‘chalk,’ 37-16. The combined 53 points eclipsed the 50-point closing total, helping the ‘over’ improve to 4-1 the past five games with a total attached.
-The Golden Bears broke open a close contest by outscoring the Cardinal in the third quarter, 20-0. Cal finished the game with advantages in rushing yards (287-123) and turnovers forced (4-1). Signal caller Kevin Riley completed 7-of-11 passes for 101 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Running back Jahvid Best paced the ground game with 19 carries for 201 yards and two scores.
-Washington hasn’t won a game since last year with its victory over Cal as a seven-point home underdog, 37-23. There was no total on that contest.
-Washington offensive lineman Jordan White-Frisbee (foot), wide receiver Jordan Polk (concussion), running back David Freeman (ankle), offensive lineman Ben Ossai (concussion) and defensive back Matt Mosley (knee) are ‘questionable’ against the Golden Bears.
-Cal strong safety Brett Johnson (shoulder) is ‘questionable’ versus the Huskies, while offensive lineman Mike Tepper (pectoral) is expected to miss this matchup.
-Saturday’s forecast for Berkeley, California calls for partly cloudy skies with a 10 percent chance of precipitation. The projected high calls for 64 degrees, with a low of 45.
**Southern Cal at UCLA**
-The Las Vegas Hilton opened Southern Cal as a 33-point road favorite over UCLA, with the total set at 47. ABC Sports starts its coverage of this contest at 4:30 p.m. ET.
-Southern Cal (10-1 SU, 6-4 ATS) continued its winning ways by throttling Notre Dame last weekend as a 33-point home ‘chalk,’ 38-3. The Trojans had failed to cover their previous two outings before beating the Fighting Irish.
-USC dominated Notre Dame across the board, with advantages in first downs (22-4), rushing yards (175-50), passing yards (274-41) and time of possession (34:01-25:59). Quarterback Mark Sanchez was 22-of-31 passing for 267 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Joe McKnight ran four times for 63 yards with a score.
-UCLA (4-7 SU, 6-5 ATS) dropped to 1-3 SU and ATS its last four games after getting roughed up by Arizona State November 28 as a 10-point road underdog, 34-9. The combined 43 points failed to topple the 44 ½-point closing total, enabling the ‘under’ to cash the third consecutive contest.
-The Bruins led in most statistical categories and limited the Sun Devils to just 122 yards of total offense, but they were unable to overcome four turnovers that resulted in 28 points for ASU. Quarterback Kevin Craft was 24-of-39 passing for 204 yards with three interceptions, while running back Derrick Coleman had three carries for 43 yards.
-USC is 3-1 SU, but 1-3 ATS the previous four meetings with UCLA after winning last season as a 19-point home favorite, 24-7. The combined 31 points failed to topple the 46-point closing total, helping the ‘under’ improve to 3-1 the last four games in this series.
-USC fullback Stanley Havili (ankle) is ‘questionable’ versus the Bruins, while offensive lineman Nick Howell (ankle) is expected to miss this matchup.
-UCLA offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani (knee) is ‘probable’ against the Trojans.
-Saturday’s forecast for Pasadena, California calls for partly cloudy skies, with a high of 76 degrees and a low of 49.
**Arizona State at Arizona**
-The Las Vegas Hilton lists Arizona as a 10½-point home ‘chalk’ over Arizona State, with the total set at 51. ESPN will provide coverage of ‘The Duel in the Desert’ beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET.
-Arizona State (5-6 SU, 4-5 ATS) is riding a three-game SU winning streak after beating UCLA Nov. 28 as a 10-point home favorite, 34-9. The Sun Devils also improved to 3-1 ATS the previous four outings.
-Signal caller Rudy Carpenter completed 13-of-26 passing for 101 yards with an interception, while running back Keegan Herring had 13 carries for 32 yards. Wideout Chris McGaha caught four passes for 51 yards, but the entire offense generated just 122 yards of total offense. Carpenter endured three sacks for a -24 yards.
-Arizona (6-5 SU and ATS) enters this matchup by dropping its last two games SU and previous three outings ATS after falling to Oregon State Nov. 22 as a three-point home ‘chalk,’ 19-17. The combined 36 points never seriously threatened the 56-point closing total.
-The Wildcats appeared poised for the victory, but allowed the Beavers to march down the field late in the game before they kicked the winning field goal as time expired. Quarterback Willie Tuitama was 16-of-22 passing for 158 yards with a touchdown, while freshman running back Keola Antolin had 25 carries for 114 yards and a score.
-Arizona State is 3-1 SU, but 1-3 ATS the previous four meetings with Arizona after winning last season as a seven-point home favorite, 20-17. The combined 37 points never seriously threatened the 57-point closing total, helping the ‘under’ cash the third consecutive contest in this series.
-Arizona State defensive tackle David Smith (stinger) is ‘questionable’ against the Wildcats, while defensive lineman Jonathan English (knee) is expected to miss this matchup.
-Arizona is reporting no players as ‘probable,’ ‘questionable’ or ‘doubtful’ versus the Sun Devils.
-Saturday’s forecast for Tucson, Arizona calls for mostly cloudy skies, with a high of 74 degrees and a low of 52.
**Cincinnati at Hawaii**
-The Las Vegas Hilton opened Cincinnati as a seven-point road favorite over Hawaii, with the total listed at 50½. ESPN2 will start its coverage of this contest at 11:30 p.m. ET.
-Cincinnati (10-2 SU, 6-5 ATS) cruised past Syracuse last weekend as a 21-point home ‘chalk,’ 30-10. The Bearcats had covered four games in a row before failing versus the Orange. There was no total on that contest.
-Cincinnati dominated Syracuse in first downs (25-8), passing yards (272-59) and time of possession (34:53-25:07). Quarterback Tony Pike was 28-of-44 passing for 272 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while running back John Goebel had 10 carries for 67 yards and a score.
-Hawaii (7-5 SU, 6-5 ATS) recorded its third SU victory in a row after upending Washington State last weekend as a 27½-point home favorite, 24-10. The Warriors had covered back-to-back outings before failing to do so versus the Cougars.
-Hawaii finished the contest with advantages in first downs (20-14), passing yards (315-76), turnovers (2-1) and time of possession (33:48-26:12). Signal caller Greg Alexander was 19-of-34 passing for 315 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while rushing 14 times for 43 yards.
-The Bearcats and Warriors have not played each other the previous few seasons.
-Cincinnati defensive end Lamonte Nelms (possible suspension) is ‘questionable’ versus the Warriors, while defensive back Mike Mikens (knee) is ‘out.’
-Hawaii defensive back Ryan Mouton (ankle) is ‘questionable’ against the Bearcats.
-Saturday’s forecast for Honolulu, Hawaii calls for partly cloudy skies, with a high of 81 degrees and a low of 71.
vegasinsider.com.