Cal v. Utah College Football Betting Odds and Lines

Las Vegas bettors are pessimistic about the California Golden Bears’ (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) chances of scoring an upset against the No. 16 Utah Utes (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12).

The Golden Bears will travel to Salt Lake City this week to take on the Utes. The match-up against Utah is its second top-25 team in a row. Last week, it lost 40-52 to the No. 15 Oregon State Beavers at home and is scheduled to play four more top-25 teams over the same number of weeks.

The Cal v. Utah college football betting odds opened at California +10 on Sunday, Oct. 8, at the Circa Sports sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas.

As of Wednesday morning, the latest college football betting odds for California v. Utah is California +13.5, according to sports lines and odds aggregated by the betting website Vegas Insider. The California +13.5 line implies the California Golden Bears are about 14-point underdogs against the Utah Utes.

According to odds aggregated by Vegas Insider, U.S. sportsbooks offer “over-or-under” total score bets between 45 and 45.5 points as of Wednesday morning.

A bet on the “over” at a total of 45.5 points pay bettors if the combined final score of California v. Utah is 46 points or higher. An “under” bet would pay off if the game’s final score is 45 points or fewer.

The California +13.5 line and 45.5-point total imply an expected final score of about 15-30 in the Utah Utes’ favor.

According to Vegas Insider, U.S. sportsbooks now offer California v. Utah “moneyline” bets between California +410 and California +450 and Utah -630 and Utah -550.

Bets placed on a moneyline bet at the most favorable odds of California +450 would pay out a profit of $450 on a $100 wager if the California Golden Bears pull off an upset against the Utah Utes. In contrast, someone would have to risk $550 to collect a profit of $100 at Utah’s most favorable moneyline odds of Utah -550 if they think Utah will win.

California is 2-4 against the point spread in the 2023 college football season, while the Utah Utes are 2-3. The Golden Bears lost to Oregon State last week, and the Beavers covered the nine-point spread. The Utes enjoyed a bye last week.

According to an analysis by Vegas Insider, 59% of all bets placed in U.S. sportsbooks are on the California Golden Bears, suggesting the Golden Bears will pull off an upset or the Utah Utes will win but fail to cover the two-score point spread. However, 65% of all money bet on the point spread has been put on the Utah Utes as of Wednesday morning.

Nearly all moneyline bets (95%), which pay out on a victory no matter the margin of victory, have been on the Utah Utes, per Vegas Insider.

A majority (57%) of all total bets have been placed on an “over” result, while less than half (46%) of all dollars bet have been on the same result.

The California Golden Bears are 3-3 on over-or-under bets this season, while all five of the Utah Utes’ games have resulted in “under” wins for sports bettors.

California’s contest against Utah is the 13th meeting between the two schools. The series is tied at 6-6, with the Golden Bears’ last win over the Utes in 2016. California won 28-23 in Berkeley, Calif., then.

California’s last win in Salt Lake City was 60 years ago in 1963.

This Saturday’s game between California and Utah will also be both teams’ last as Pac-12 Conference members, as the Utes will compete in the Big 12 conference in 2024. The Golden Bears will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.

California head coach Justin Wilcox may not be able to rely on his star running backs this weekend.

California is ranked 11th nationally in rushing offense at 217.3 yards per game. The Golden Bears’ running back corps of Jaydn Ott, Isaiah Ifanse and Ashton Stredick have racked up a combined 1,105 yards in six games. However, the Utes are ranked third nationally for rushing defense, limiting opponents to 67 rushing yards per game.