UCLA vs Cal Odds, Picks, Predictions (11/25/22)

UCLA visits Cal this week after losing a very close game against USC, while Cal won a close game against Stanford. This should be an interesting game to help decide the Pac-12 pecking order, especially because UCLA is not out of the Pac-12 Championship just yet. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

UCLA vs. Cal Odds

UCLA is a 10-point road favorite against Cal and is at -380 on the money line. The over/under is also at 60.5. UCLA should be favored by more here because Cal can’t score that much at all. Cal has a good defense, but the UCLA offense is going to score. The over/under is also questionable because Cal has offensive issues. UCLA’s defense is not good, but it’s questionable if Cal can take advantage. This spread might move more in favor of UCLA because Cal has not been good.

UCLA vs. Cal Prediction & Pick

The Pick: UCLA -10

UCLA is going to be determined to bounce back after last week. Their offense has been very good all year. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been having his best season at UCLA, while his backfield teammate, Zach Charbonnet, has been having a great year too. They are averaging 4o points and 505 total yards on the year. Jake Bobo has also been great as a wide receiver for the Bruins. This is easily Chip Kelly’s best team since he’s been in Pasadena. The defense needs to be better, especially against the pass. The question is just if Cal can take advantage.

Their main problem is on offense, and they average 24 points and 365 total yards a game. They have a good running game, but can’t get it going that much consistently. Jack Plummer has also shown flashes of consistency, but hasn’t been able to put it together game over game a lot. Cal has usually been able to hang their hat on defense, but even this year it’s disappointed a bit, especially through the air. The Cal home field advantage also won’t be a huge factor here because they usually don’t have a big home field anyway, but now the team isn’t that good. Take the Bruins here, there could be a bit of a letdown after the way they lost to USC, but they are that much of a better team than Cal, and should cover here.

UCLA vs. Cal Key Matchups

Can Cal contain Dorian Thompson-Robinson? Can UCLA slow down Jack Plummer?

Dorian Thompson-Robinson vs the Cal Secondary

Dorian Thompson-Robinson has taken a huge leap year over year during his time at UCLA. He has 2,694 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions, and he has a 70% completion percentage on the year. He looked like he was giving every ounce he had against USC, but he also looked like he was in pain and that’s why some of the turnovers most likely happened. He gets a favorable matchup against the Cal pass defense, where they allow 288 passing yards a game. If Dorian Thompson-Robinson can have a good game here, then UCLA might win easily in a blow out.

Jack Plummer vs the UCLA Secondary

Jack Plummer has been surprisingly decent for Cal this year. He has 2,801 passing yards, 17 passing yards, nine interceptions, and he has a 62% completion percentage on the year. He’s been asked to do more for the Cal offense because they’ve struggled running the ball, even with Jaydn Ott in the back field. He also gets a favorable matchup against the UCLA pass defense where they allow 274 passing yards a game. Plummer needs to have a good game here in order for Cal to be in this game at all, especially with an inconsistent run game.