College Football Picks: Colorado at California
The Colorado Buffaloes will get a taste of Pac 10 play a year early when they head West to take on the Cal Golden Bears. These two teams have met four times with the series being tied at two wins each. Colorado got off to a good start this season with a dominating 24-3 victory over rival Colorado State. Cal had a warm up game against UC Davis and exploited their inferior opponent to the tune of a 52-3 win. The Golden Bears are a 9 point favorite.
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Dan Hawkins might not get to see the move to the Pac 10 next season if the Buffs do not reach bowl play for the first time since 2007. A quarterback carousel has been one of the major issues during his tenure. Tyler Hansen got the starting nod in the opener and played well. He passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Hansen added a touchdown running the ball also. CU kept the play calling conservative and relied on a stout defense in their first game. Rodney Stewart carried the ball 16 times for 67 yards, but Colorado ran the ball 35 times for just 115 yards. Output in the running game has to improve in week 2 with ten returning starters on offense. WR Scott McKnight had a big game with six receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. His numbers will need to remain prevalent with the loss of Marques Simas to legal trouble. USC transfer Travon Patterson had a touchdown catch also. The Buff’s defense looked strong last Saturday, holding CSU to 49 yards rushing and 245 yards overall. Granted, the Rams are down this year and Cal has a much more potent offense.
Cal could be the dark horse of the Pac 10 with 14 returning starters including eight on offense. The Golden Bears went about their business against UC Davis, racking up 517 yards of total offense using a balanced attack. QB Kevin Riley was efficient completing 14 of 20 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns. The senior gave way to Beau Sweeney during the middle of the third quarter. Shane Vereen has the spotlight all to himself this year with the departure of Jahvid Best. He gained 67 yards in the opener and scored twice on the ground. Vereen was on the receiving end of one touchdown pass from Riley also. True freshman Keenan Allen made a name for himself in the opener and did a little bit of everything. He carried the ball twice for 18 yards and led the Bears with four catches for another 120 yards. Allen returns kicks too. Veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones finished with five receptions and 81 yards with one score. The offense looked to be in midseason form and firing on all cylinders. On defense Cal was not tested so it is not known how good they can be on that side of the ball this year. Colorado’s offense is by no means high powered, but is a step up from UC Davis.
The public has pushed this line up a point and a half from the starting line of 7.5 favoring Cal. Colorado has lost their last seven road games against non-conference opponents. They showed improvement in their first game, but Cal has the better skill players and a definite home field advantage. This one could get ugly early and I expect Cal to post a double digit victory.
Play: Cal -9
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