Southern California vs. California Spread, Line, Odds, Predictions, Picks, and Betting Preview

Oddly enough, there’s still one regular-season college football game left to be played. The USC Trojans head to Berkely to take on the California Golden Bears this Saturday in a make-up game. The original meeting was postponed as Cal could not field a full roster due to COVID protocol.

The USC Trojans made the biggest splash of the 2021 coaching carousel, louring Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma. The program has been infused with some much-needed momentum heading into the 2022 season. Will any of that positive momentum carry over to the field this weekend? It’s hard to say with certainty, but we wouldn’t count on it — Riley isn’t the coach yet, after all.

Cal quickly took some money, opening at -1.5 at some books but jumping to -4. We believe Cal is the rightful favorite in this spot, but jumping over a field goal is unwarranted. 

USC hasn’t beaten a team other than Arizona since the second week of October. It’s safe to say that things have been pretty bleak, so the Riley news couldn’t have come at a better time. That being said, the Trojans did show some life in last week’s narrow 35-31 loss to a good BYU team. Freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart impressed with 248 yards and a score, and he’ll be looking for an impressive game here to showcase his talent for the incoming Riley.

Cal has been hit or miss. We’re ignoring the Arizona loss, as the Bears were without several starters and members of the coaching staff due to COVID protocol. In the past two games, the offense put up 636 yards against Stanford before falling flat with only 217 yards against UCLA last week. 

Both teams are volatile and are out of a bowl game at 4-7.