California vs. Washington Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4

There are a lot of good teams in the loaded Pac-12 and the Washington Huskies might be the best of the bunch.

Washington is up to No. 8 in the AP Poll after their 41-7 demolition of Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday and now they get to open conference play with the Cal Golden Bears. 

Cal is 2-1 after beating Idaho 31-17 last week, but the Bears struggled badly against Auburn in a Week 2 14-10 loss. The Bears are underdogs in this Week 4 conference matchup, and for a look at the college football landscape as a whole check out BetSided college football betting analyst Reed Wallach’s preview and weekly column. 

To bet this Pac-12 contest use the FanDuel Sportsbook and take advantage of their great promo. Just click the link below to sign up, deposit $5, then place a bet on this matchup and receive $200 in bonus bets, win or lose. 

Now, here are the odds for Washington and Cal. 

California vs. Washington Odds, Spread and Total

Washington vs. California Betting Trends

• Washington is 2-0-1 ATS
• The UNDER is 2-1 in Washington games
• California is 2-1 ATS
• The UNDER is 2-1 in California games

California vs. Washington How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, September 23
• Time: 10:30 PM EST
• Venue: Husky Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): ESPN
• California Record: 3-0
• Washington Record: 2-1

California vs. Washington Key Players to Watch

California

Isaiah Ifanse, RB: Jaydn Ott looked like one of the best running backs in the country to start the year, but he missed last week and the Cal running game didn’t miss a beat. Ifanse ran for 137 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. This season he has 206 yards on 36 carries. 

Washington

Rome Odunze, WR: Michael Penix Jr. is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but he needs somebody to throw to. Well he just happens to have one of the best receiver duos in the country with Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze. Last week, Odunze was the star with 180 yards on eight catches. For the season he has 22 grabs for 419 yards for an average of 19.0 yards per reception and two touchdowns. 

California vs. Washington Prediction and Pick

To stop the Washington offense, you need to have a great pass defense, Penix is averaging more than 11 yards per dropback this season. The Huskies are gaining 9.6 yards per play which is the best of any team in college football. Cal does not have the pass defense to stop that attack. 

Right now, the Golden Bears rank 35th in pass defense, only giving up 185.7 passing yards per game and only 6.3 per attempt. That’s because they’ve played North Texas, Auburn, and Idaho. This is very different and will make their pass defense look like it did last year when they finished ranked 125th in the country out of 131 teams, allowing 282.9 yards through the air every game. 

This game was at Cal last year and Washington won it 28-21. Penix threw the ball 51 times and finished with 374 yards and two touchdowns. The Huskies only gained 5.7 yards per play in that game, but this year’s team is so much better on offense and the game is at Washington. I fully expect Washington to blow this game open and Cal won’t be able to keep pace at all. 

The Golden Bears rely heavily on their rushing attack with Isaiah Ifanse and Jaydn Ott, but Washington is only giving up 3.8 yards per rush and only surrendered 53 rushing yards to Michigan State. 

The Huskies will absolutely run away with this one. They are 6-3-1 against the spread in their last 10 games and have won all 10. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change