California and Duke meet Saturday in Week 6 college football action from California Memorial Stadium. Here’s a California vs Duke prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best California Golden Bears vs Duke Blue Devils pick.
Duke Has Confidence
Duke got out to a slow start to the season but they suddenly have confidence and they have won two games in a row. Two games ago, against NC State they won 45-33, and in the last game against Syracuse, they secured the 38-3 win. Darien Mensah is playing with a whole lot of confidence and he completed 22 of his 28 passes against Syracuse, for 268 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Nate Sheppard had a huge game on the ground rushing 15 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Duke is averaging 34.8 points while their defense is giving up 26.4 points per game. The offense is ranked 44th while the defense is ranked 87th. Mensah is having a strong season and he has thrown for 1,573 yards, 13 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Sheppard has rushed for 365 yards and two touchdowns.
Why the Duke Blue Devils will win
- Duke has won each of its last nine games as a favorite against non-AP-ranked teams.
- California has lost six of its last seven home games in October.
- Duke has covered the spread in each of its last five games against conference opponents.
- California has failed to cover the spread in each of its last three home games against conference opponents.
Cal Bounced Back
Cal two games ago faced off against San Diego State and they ended up losing 34-0. In the last game against Boston College, California scored 28 points and they ended up winning by four points. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is the real deal and he completed 22 of his 34 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Kendrick Raphael had a huge game on the ground also rushing 25 times for 119 yards and a touchdown. In this gam,e it’s going to need to be the offense that has a balanced attack.
Cal on the season is averaging 24.8 points while their defense is giving up 18 points per game. The offense is ranked 89th while the defense is ranked 34th. If it wasn’t for the game they were shutout the stats would look even better for the Golden Bears.
Why the California Golden Bears will win
- California has won three of its last four games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Duke has lost three of its last four October games as a road favorite.
- The underdog has covered the spread in each of California’s last four games at California Memorial Stadium.
- Duke has failed to cover the spread in five of its last six October road games against non-AP-ranked teams.
California vs Duke Prediction
We are going to take the underdog here at home. Mensah no doubt, has been good, but let’s not overlook how good Sagopoluetele has been good. He has continued to light up defenses, and he’s only a freshman. He’s only going to continue to get better and better, Take out the one bad offensive game for Cal, and this would be talked about like one of the better offenses on the West coast. I expect good quarterback play out of Sagopolutele, and that will be enough here. Back Cal to cover the spread.