Forecast for California vs Oregon State in Saturday Night Football, Selection and Odds Revealed
In the opening game of the 2023 College Football season, the Oregon State Beavers and the California Golden Bears will face off at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30pm ET, with ESPN providing the broadcast coverage.
Trent Bray, the first-year head coach of the Beavers, has emphasized moving past last year's 44-7 loss to Cal. Oregon State's defense struggled last season, ranking 110th in rush defense and 100th in points allowed. They managed just seven sacks all season and allowed 4.53 yards per carry.
However, the Beavers bring back key offensive pieces, including running back Anthony Hankerson and receiver Trent Walker. The addition to the squad is Duke transfer quarterback Maalik Murphy, who threw for 2,933 yards and 26 touchdowns last season, ranking 13th nationally in TD passes.
On the other hand, the Golden Bears are starting a true freshman quarterback on the road, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Sagapolutele beat out Ohio State transfer Devin Brown for the starting job. The Bears' defense was a top-50 unit in both run defense and pass rush grades last year, but they allowed the third-most tackles for loss in FBS and had some of the worst pass protection grades.
California entered Week 1 with massive roster turnover, losing 37 players to the transfer portal. However, they have added immediate impact to their defense with the transfer of Harrison Taggart from BYU.
The line movement suggests that sharp money has backed Cal all week, flipping this spread from Oregon State -2.5 to Cal -1. The college football odds have shifted dramatically, with the total dipping from 50 to 48.5 points. Given the defensive prowess of both teams, this game is likely to be a grind-it-out, low-scoring affair.
As both teams have questions at quarterback and may lean on their ground games, the under 48.5 points might be a good bet for this closely contested matchup. Don't miss out on the action as the Oregon State Beavers and the California Golden Bears face off in Week 1 of the College Football season.
