2016 Week 1 Expert Picks For Hawaii vs California

2016 Week 1 Expert Picks For Hawaii vs California

Written by on August 2, 2016

If you’re ready for the start of the 2016 college football season and you’re in need of some expert Week 1 picks and betting predictions, then you’re in luck! The lowly Hawaii Warriors and California Golden Bears will kick off the 2016 college football season with an interesting matchup that will take place on Thursday, Aug. 26 in Sydney Australia.

The Warriors will look to cover the college football betting lines as insane three-touchdown underdogs after winning just three games a year ago. Let’s find out if Hawaii can cover – or better yet – pull off the outright upset over a Bears team that needs to replace quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

2016 Week 1 Expert Picks For Hawaii Warriors vs California Golden Bears

When: Friday, Aug. 26, 2016
Where: ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Time: 10:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN
NCAAF Odds: Cal -21.5

Why Bet the Hawaii Warriors at +21.5

Hawaii is a good bet because they’re getting three touchdowns as a neutral site underdog. The Hawaii Warriors (3-10 SU, 3-10 ATS) never won more than four games under former head coach Norm Chow in four seasons and will turn to former quarterback Nick Rolovich to right a ship gone horribly off course in recent seasons.

The Dubs have question marks a quarterback where incumbent starter Ikaika Woolsey will battle it out against redshirt freshman Aaron Zwahlen. Senior running back Paul Harris will look to build on his 1,000-yard campaign from last season and Hawaii has its nearly full complement of receivers returning, not to mention four starters on the offensive line.

Defensively, Hawaii also has some serious question marks and a lack of experience on all three units that could really hurt them after ranking 105th nationally in points allowed (35.6 ppg).

Why Bet the California Golden Bears at -21.5

The Bears are a good bet because they’re superior to Hawaii in every way possible! Head coach Sony Dykes needs to find a new starting quarterback to replace Jared Goff, but the Golden Bears (8-5 SU, 6-7 ATS) undeniably have plenty of talent on the roster.

Texas Tech transfer Davis Webb is the presumed starter at this point, but no matter who starts under center for Cal, they’ll have an experienced offensive line to work behind with four returning starters. The Bears also have three running backs that all rushed for at least 500 yards a year ago, but the wide receiving unit needs to be rebuilt after losing six receivers tat combined for a whopping 265 catches for 3,878yards and 38 touchdowns in 2015.

Defensively, Cal lost its best player when linebacker Hardy Nickerson Jr. transferred to Illinois to play for his dad. The defensive line looks solid with two players that could turn into future NFL performers, but the secondary is weak, particularly at cornerback opposite returning starter Darius Allensworth.

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

No Jared Goff means no three-touchdown road win against a fired up Hawaii team that will already be desperate, even in their first game of the season! The Bears gave up an insane 30.6 points per game in 2015 to finish 89th in point allowed – and that’s just not going to be good enough to cover the college football betting line as an insane three-touchdown favorite.

My Pick: Cal 35 Hawaii 21