ESPN's SP+ predicts score of Arizona's game against Cal
The Plummer Bowl kicks off on Saturday. Arizona will look to make it seven in a row over the Cal Golden Bears when the Wildcats travel to Berkeley to battle Jack Plummer and the 2-1 Bears.
As of publication, Cal is a 3.5-point favorite in the matchup. The Wildcats are coming off a major win over North Dakota State at home while the Bears are looking to regroup following a late loss to Notre Dame on the road last week.
Bill Connelly’s SP+ is predicting a pretty sizeable win for Cal.
The predictive model is calling for a 27-15 California win.
Both teams are 2-1 against the spread so far this season.
Arizona’s lone loss came at home to Mississippi State in Week 2. In the two games sandwiched around that weekend, the Wildcats have won in several convincing manners. A week ago, the won a physical, gut-check kind of game against the best team the FCS ranks have to offer in North Dakota State. In Week 1, the UA trounced San Diego State thanks to an electric connection between Jayden de Laura and wideout Jacob Cowing.
On the Arizona side, the play of the offense has Cal expecting a drastically different kind of game from a year ago. On the Cal side, the fact the Bears will actually have a fully-available roster makes for a similar thought process. Don’t take much from Arizona’s 10-3 win last season. Those were two completely different teams.
“The thing about that one, it was a very unique set of circumstances,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said this week. The Bears were decimated by COVID-related issues last season. “The players competed the best they could. They competed hard, we weren’t able to get a win. We had a chance to win and we did not, which is very frustrating. To be honest, we’re not talking about that game this week at all. This is two different teams under different circumstances, different dynamics in play.”
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.