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Week 11 College Football Free Picks: California At Washington State

Written by on November 11, 2016

The California Golden Bears will look to pull off the road upset over the explosive 23rd-ranked Washington State Cougars when they throw down in their Week 11 Pac-12 pairing on Saturday night. Now, let’s find out where the online betting value in this matchup lies.

A Closer Look At The Week 11 College Football Free Picks: Golden Bears At State Cougars

When: Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 10:30 PM ET
Where: Martin Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
NCAF Odds: Washington State Cougars -14.5



Washington State Cougars

The Washington State Cougars (7-2 SU, 5-4 ATS) have won an impressive seven straight games and is tied for first place in the Pac-12 North standings. Washington State smacked beleaguered Arizona senseless in its 69-7 rout of the Wildcats last weekend as quarterback Luke Falk continued his outstanding play this season. The junior signal-caller passes for 311 yards passing and four touchdowns to lead the Cougars to victory and is currently second in the nation in passing yards per game (359.7 ypg).

After kicking off their 2016 campaign with consecutive losses against Eastern Washington and Boise State, the Cougars have not lost and have a chance to appear in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2002. Washington State has won 7 games in a row and is sitting tied for 1st place in the PAC-12 North standings. The Washington State offense is averaging 43 points per game with Falk is completing 74.1 percent of his passes for 3,237 yards with 28 touchdowns and just five interceptions

In addition to Falk’s heroics, Washington State has a three-headed monster at running back. Jamal Morrow, Gerard Wicks and James Williams have combined to put up an average of 228.7 all-purpose yards while scoring a total of 27 touchdowns. The Washington State defense is giving up 24.7 points per game.

California Golden Bears

The Bears (4-5 SU, 4-5 ATS) have lost two straight and three of their last four games including their humbling 66-27 blowout against No. 4 Washington last weekend.

Cal went 1-for-14 on third down and allows a conference-worst 44.4 points per game, thereby effectively canceling out the No. 1 ranked total offense in the Pac-12 (41.2 ppg).  Despite his team’s struggles, quarterback Davis Webb is completing 61 percent of his passes for 3,176 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Unfortunately, Cal has given up an insane 11 points over their last two games while allowing at least 44 points in each of their last four games overall.

Expert Prediction and Pick

“Whenever us and Cal gets together, it’s always gonna be a helluva deal,” Washington State wide receiver Gabe Marks told reporters. “There’s gonna be points scored. It’s inevitable. It’s a heavyweight showdown. It’s always fun to get out there and play those guys.”

While Marks is right that there will be a ton of points scored in this affair, I like Washington State to cover the college football betting line with room to spare after watching the Bears lose their last two games by at least 21 points. California is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS loss while Washington State has gone 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games and 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games overall.

More importantly, Washington State has a ton to play for as they seek both, a conference crown and a Rose Bowl appearance while California has nothing left to play for except reaching the six-win mark to become bowl eligible. Washington State wins and covers the spread with room to spare!

Pick: Washington State -14.5 Points