California at Washington odds, picks and prediction

Analyzing Saturday’s California at Washington odds and lines, with college football expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The California Golden Bears (1-2, 0-0 Pac-12) and Washington Huskies (1-2, 0-0) open up their Pac-12 seasons Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the California at Washington odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.

Both teams are off to slow starts with losing records heading into this matchup. California’s only win came against Sacramento State (42-30 as a 23.5-point favorite), while Washington blew out Arkansas State 52-3 last week to avoid going 0-3.

California’s defense, which had been a staple under head coach Justin Wilcox, has allowed 448.3 yards per game (112th nationally) and most recently coughed up 467 yards to Sacramento State. The offense faces a Husky defense that has been stout through the air but gave up 343 rushing yards to Michigan in Week 2.

Washington has somewhat righted the ship with last week’s Arkansas State win, but it still has an embarrassing loss to FCS Montana (13-7) and blowout defeat to Michigan (31-10) fresh in bettor’s minds.

California at Washington odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:40 a.m. ET.

  • Money line: California +260 (bet $100 to win $260) | Washington -340 (bet $340 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): California +7.5 (-110) | Washington -7.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 46.5 (O: -120 | U: -105)

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California at Washington odds, lines, picks and predictions

Prediction

Washington 24, California 20

Money line

Neither team has looked great so far, so it’s unlikely this one’s a blowout in either direction. In fact, Cal has won the last two games in this series by a combined total of three points.

A small-unit play on CALIFORNIA +260 makes sense in what should be yet another close game.

Against the spread

Washington at least enters this matchup with some positive momentum, but its collective body of work under head coach Jimmy Lake has been subpar since he took over in 2020 (2-5 ATS).

Despite Cal’s too-close-for-comfort win over Sacramento State last week, it has been competitive in its first two games against tougher competition (TCU, Nevada). Take CALIFORNIA +7.5 (-112) to cover here.

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Over/Under

This is a low line, and for good reason. Washington has hit the Under in each of its first three games and the final scores in the last two games of this series (12-10 in 2018; 20-19 in 2019) haven’t sniffed Saturday’s line.

Take the UNDER 46.5 (-105).

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