Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

UCLA Football: Betting odds for the UCLA-Cal is larger than expected

By Mike Regalado

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Running back Joshua Kelley #27 of the UCLA Bruins runs into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Huskies at the Rose Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Running back Joshua Kelley #27 of the UCLA Bruins runs into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Huskies at the Rose Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The UCLA football team will be heading up to the Bay Area this weekend to face Cal, a team that has also been struggling offensively, and has created an interesting betting line.

The UCLA football team surprised a lot of people this past weekend when they came very close to beating #10 Washington.

RELATED: UCLA Puts Up a Fight Against Washington

Not only did they put up a fight, fight, fight against the Huskies, but they also beat the spread by quite a significant margin. Washington was favored by 21 points in that game but only won by seven in their 31-24 victory.

More from Go Joe Bruin

The Bruins had their best offensive outing of the season which was surprising considering that the Huskies have one of the best defenses in the country and it was statistically proven that the Bruins have one of the worst offenses.

That myth was shattered as UCLA not only scored the most points in a game this season but the Bruins put up the most points against Washington this season (who has held opponents to 11.6 points before the contest).

On top of that, UCLA put up the most total yards in a game this season (422), which is also the most put up against UW.

With that in mind, it is interesting to see how the betting line in the UCLA-California game is a bit bigger than some might have predicted. Cal, which is only scoring 21.5 points per game this season, is not scoring that much more than UCLA who averages 18.4. Currently, Cal is favored by -7.5 points against the Bruins who will face each other in Berkeley this Saturday.

Though Cal has had trouble putting points on the board in 2018, one of the reasons they are favored by so much is the fact that Bruins do not do so well in Memorial Stadium. In the last nine meetings in the Bay Area, UCLA has only beat the Bears once (2014).

dark. Next. The Top 10 Bruin Quarterbacks of All-Time

Despite the Berkeley drought, UCLA showed this past weekend that they are improving, which is why this should not only be a challenging matchup but one that the Bruins will play hard in, especially as they try to get their first victory of the season.