San Diego State vs California Odds, Prediction & Picks 9/14/2024

The San Diego State Aztecs will take on the California Golden Bears on September 14, 2024, at 10:30 pm ET. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Aztecs as 19 point underdogs. As of now, 95% of spread bets are in favor of the Aztecs, while the Golden Bears have garnered just 5% of bets. The total of 48 has 68% of bets leaning towards the under, with 32% favoring the over. Here, we break down Saturday night's San Diego State vs Cal matchup and give you our best bet for that non-conference game.

San Diego State Facing Big Week On and Off the Field

The San Diego State Aztecs have split their first two games of the 2024 college football season. They beat Texas A&M Commerce out of the FCS to start their season before losing 21-0 at home to Oregon State out of the Pac-12. Since then, it has been announced that San Diego State will be joining Oregon State in the Pac-12 in the future, news that the current team will hope to use to propel them to success against a former Pac-12 team in the California Golden Bears.

San Diego State's offense is always going to be the biggest question mark going into contests against power conference opponents. The Aztecs are known for winning games with their defense, but they need to get more going offensively if they want to win games like this one. Aztecs quarterback Danny O'Neil is averaging just 160 passing yards per game so far this season, which is not good enough going into a game against a team that is playing as well as Cal is right now.

Cal Looks to Build On Win In SEC Country

From future Pac-12 members to a former Pac-12 member, the Cal Golden Bears come into this San Diego State vs Cal matchup with a record of 2-0. After beating FCS UC Davis, the Golden Bears got the better of the Auburn Tigers on the road last week, holding their opponents from the SEC to just 14 points. Here, the Golden Bears will look for a third straight win to open their season and will look to their defense to help them get the job done.

In theory, Cal should have a huge advantage on the defensive side of the ball in this game, given the struggles we saw from San Diego State on offense against Oregon State. But there will be questions about whether or not Cal can turn in a performance like that again or whether their turnover luck will dry up after they won the turnover battle 5-0 against Auburn a week ago.

San Diego State vs Cal Best Bet

Cal should be able to win this matchup on Saturday night, but the question will be whether or not they can win by enough to cover the number. We will take the points with San Diego State in what should be a low-scoring contest on both sides. The under is also a play worth making in our opinion, as we anticipate both sides having a hard time putting points on the board.

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