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\nCAL has won six of the last seven meetings SU
\nThe last six meetings have gone OVER the total
\nCAL has covered five of the last six meetings as the road team<\/p>\nThe Golden Bears, who are now two weeks removed from their “Big Game” triumph over Stanford, have had to deal with the injury absence of Jahvid Best, who is one of the nation’s most explosive runners, but fell to a freak injury in the game against Oregon State.<\/p>\n
This team is oh so fortunate to have an understudy that can get the job done and then some. Shane Vereen, like Best, is a widely-heralded schoolboy in California who has posted some very impressive rushing credentials himself, with 715 yards last year, surpassed that in the Stanford game.<\/p>\n
Vereen has run for 159 and 193 yards in his two starts since taking over for Best, and it would be safe to say that as far as the every-down back option, Cal is not compromised enough to where that and that alone would make a substantial difference in the evaluation of this game from the standpoint of BetUS NCAA football odds.<\/p>\n
Frankly, California was expected to accomplish more with itself this season, with Best, Vereen, and veteran quarterback in Kevin Riley and eight starters back on defense. Despite an 8-3 record and a win in the rivalry game it has been a disappointment, as has the way the Bears crumbled against some quality teams, dropping one-sided decisions to Oregon, USC and Oregon State by a combined 83 points.<\/p>\n
We could not say with a huge amount of conviction that Washington is in the class of those teams, and has only won four times on the seasons, but this has really not been a bad season for them, considering the winless year they had in 2008, which included an unthinkable defeat suffered at the hands of Washington State.<\/p>\n
This year the Huskies scored upset wins over USC and Arizona, took Notre Dame to overtime in a genuine thriller, gave LSU a very tight ballgame until the last going, and achieved its revenge over Washington State with a 30-0 shutout. They’ve actually been tough at home (4-2 SU, with the same record in the NCAA football odds), which is quite a turnaround from where they were previously.<\/p>\n
There has been a great deal of progress, and for that you have to look to new coach Steve Sarkisian, the former USC offensive coordinator who brought with him a new attitude, and a healthy Jake Locker, who missed much of the season with a thumb injury last year but has come back to post decent numbers as a passer (18 TD’s, 57%) and improve his NFL draft stock as a guy who can take off and use his legs if he has to (something Sarkisian, who’s been trying to make him more of a pocket passer, has worried about).<\/p>\n
In fact, there have been rumors that Locker will forego his senior season and declare himself eligible for the draft, which would make this his final game ( Washington is ineligible for a bowl game).<\/p>\n
Sarkisian has built up this team’s mental toughness and maturity, and part of that process is to erase those bad memories from last year, which includes a 48-7 California romp in Berkeley. Look for a big effort from the Huskies in what is, in effect, their “bowl game,” covering the seven points in the BetUS NCAA football odds.<\/p>\n
OUR PLAY: WASHINGTON +7 ***<\/strong>
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