Texas vs. California Pick
Will No. 11 Texas find itself in another shootout when it hits the road to face California on Saturday at 10:30PM ET on ESPN?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Texas is favored on the road in this game, as the Longhorns are getting odds of -8 points against the Golden Bears. The over/under total for the game has been set at a lofty 79.5 points. These two have split their last two meetings, hitting the over in last year’s 45-44 win for Cal at Texas.
Texas is having as good of a start as it could ask for. The Longhorns defeated Notre Dame 50-47 in overtime to start the season and followed that up with a 41-7 win over UTEP last week. The Longhorns have hit the over in four of their last six games, going 1-1 thus far with the total. Texas is averaging 466.5 yards per game thus far on offense while giving up just 326 yards per game on defense. Shane Buechele has looked good as a freshman QB, throwing for 524 yards and six touchdowns.
California has started the season at 1-1 with a 51-31 win over Hawaii and a 45-40 loss to San Diego State. The Bears have hit the over in both games and have hit it in four straight overall. Cal has been very impressive on offense, averaging 617 yards per game, including 481.5 yards per contest through the air. However, the defense is getting beat for 472.5 yards per contest, including nearly 300 rushing yards per game. Cal will hope Davis Webb can continue to do well. He has thrown for 963 yards and nine touchdowns in the two games.
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This is a big total. While Cal has shown the ability to score, it is going to face a better defense than what Hawaii and San Diego State have to offer. The Bears will score, but not likely put up 40 points against Texas. The Longhorns shouldn’t have much difficulty against this poor defense, but they will likely play more of a ball-control offense. Don’t look for Texas to put up 50 points in this one. The total just seems too high in this game.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 3 PICK: TEXAS/CALIFORNIA UNDER 79.5