California vs. UCLA Predictions, Picks & Odds Week 13: Bears Battle for Bowl Eligibility
The UCLA Bruins host the California Golden Bears on Saturday as we make our best California vs. UCLA prediction based on the best college football odds at our best college football betting sites.
After beginning the season with a 3-6 record, the California Golden Bears have clinched two consecutive victories, putting them within one win of bowl eligibility. In order to secure a bowl berth, they must achieve an upset against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl, where they are currently 9.5-point underdogs.
In the previous week, the Bruins dominated the USC Trojans, securing a 38-20 victory and notching their seventh win of the year. Quarterback Ethan Garbers threw for three touchdowns in the game.
As part of our Week 13 college football predictions, here is our best California vs. UCLA prediction and our college football picks (odds via our best college football betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
California vs. UCLA prediction: Week 13
California +9.5 (-110 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐
It’s hard to fault the Golden Bears for any of their losses this season. While they were blown out by the Oregon Ducks, Utah Utes, and Washington Huskies, they played tight games against the USC Trojans, Oregon State Beavers, and Auburn Tigers.
The Bruins have been one of the most inconsistent teams in college football. They looked bad in wins over the Washington State Cougars and the Colorado Buffaloes, and two weeks ago, they lost to the Arizona State Sun Devils. Garbers has been the primary quarterback over the last five weeks, but he’s thrown for fewer than 200 yards in each of his last two games.
The Golden Bears have one of the worst defenses in football, allowing 36.8 points per game. The Bruins are coming off a 38-point performance against USC, but they scored a combined 17 points in their two games prior to that. The Bruins’ defense has allowed just 17.7 points per contest, but the Golden Bears’ offense has scored 31.5 points per game. With such different styles of play on the field on Saturday, it’s hard to be confident in the Over or the Under for this game.
What this ultimately comes down to is motivation. The Golden Bears need to win to earn bowl eligibility, while the Bruins are simply playing for an eighth win. Though the Golden Bears have looked dreadful at times, they’ve played their worst football against great teams, and they’ve played well against teams they’re about even with or better than.
The Golden Bears may not be of the same caliber of the Bruins, but they’re good enough to keep the deficit under 10 points in a must-win game.
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California vs. UCLA best odds
FanDuel (-110)
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | bet365 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +9 | +9.5 | +9 | +9 | +9 |
| -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
FanDuel is the only one of our best sports betting sites offering this spread at +9.5. Considering they’re asking the same price as the rest of the major sportsbooks, they’re the clear place to wager at this moment.
FanDuel currently differs from the other best sports betting apps when it comes to the total as well. They’re offering a number higher than any of the other college football betting sites, which could indicate that they’re paying more attention to what the public is backing than the other college football betting sites. That means there is a very small chance that this number climbs to +10 for -110 before kickoff.
That being said, we should probably just get in now, as this is a game the Golden Bears can win outright.
California vs. UCLA odds
California vs. UCLA odds analysis
The Bruins opened as 10.5-point favorites, and despite 73% of bettors backing them to cover, the spread has dropped below the key number. FanDuel is the only one of our best sportsbooks to still have this spread listed at 9.5, while the rest have it listed at 9. It seems that oddsmakers are content letting the public back the Bruins no matter how low this spread goes.
The total opened at 51.5, and it has lowered at every major sportsbook except for FanDuel. While most of the college football betting sites have the total listed at 51, BetMGM has it listed at 50.5. 67% of bettors back the over in this game, so we don’t expect this number to drop below 50 before kickoff.
California vs. UCLA game info
- When: Saturday, November 25 at 10:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
- How to watch: ESPN
- Weather: 47 degrees, 5-mph winds, 3% chance of precipitation
California vs. UCLA prediction made 11/22/2023 at 2:55 p.m. ET.
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