Cal vs. Washington State Prediction
The Washington State Cougars are essentially the Pac-12’s only hope to have a playoff representative this season. Will the Cougars keep their perfect ATS record alive on Saturday night when they host the Cal Golden Bears at 10:45 p.m. ET as a home favorite?
Game Snapshot
373 Cal Golden Bears at 374 Washington State Cougars
10:45 p.m. ET, Saturday, November 3, 2018
Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Cougars are 9-point favorites to beat the Golden Bears. The total, meanwhile, sits at 50.5 points. As of this writing, 69% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Cougars.
Cal Golden Bears
Cal redshirt junior QB Ross Bowers (hand) won’t be available against Washington State on Saturday. Bowers has been unavailable for the Golden Bears the past few weeks because of a hand injury he suffered earlier in the year. Chase Garbers remains entrenched as the starter, with Brandon McIlwain the backup. Chase Forrest would be the emergency third quarterback.
Washington State Cougars
Pro Football Focus notes that Washington State senior QB Gardner Minshew had an adjusted completion percentage of 91.3 in Saturday’s win over Stanford. That was tops in the nation, besting Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray (90.5) in the impressive effort. We’ve talked a lot about Minshew over the season, but we probably haven’t talked enough. What he’s done — albeit in the happiest of pass-happy offenses — has been spectacular, and he has given the Cougars a chance to win every game. If not for the ridiculous things Tua Tagovailoa was doing, he might be the Heisman favorite right now.
Betting Trends
Cal
The Golden Bears are 4-1 against the spread in their last five road games and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games coming off a win.
Washington State
The Cougars are 8-0 against the spread in their last eight games overall and 18-6 ATS in their last 24 home games.
Prediction
There’s no sense in betting against the Washington State Cougars this season. They’re perfect against the number this year and are 14-3 ATS in their last 17 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game. They’ve passed every test but one, which was a road loss to Southern Cal in a game that could have won. Cal, meanwhile, has been inconsistent this season and turnovers have been a big issue. The Cougars have been excellent at home this year and I won’t be fading them tonight.
College Football Prediction: Washington State Cougars -9