California Golden Bears vs TCU Horned Frogs Point Spread Picks

California looked bad last week, losing at home to Nevada, 22-17, as a favorite. Now they play their first road game, heading to Texas to take on TCU. Cal is 25-43 ATS off a home loss while TCU has a terrific coaching staff under Gary Patterson with 16 bowl appearances in 20 years. TCU has no concerns on offense with QB Max Duggan entering his third year as a starter (10 TDs and 4 picks in 2020). The defense has led the Big 12 total 'D' in three of the last four seasons and returns senior defensive tackle Corey Bethley, who could have jumped to the NFL. TCU is 38-22 ATS at home after allowing 100 or fewer rushing yards in the previous game. College football favorites of 10.5 to 21 points and that have an experienced QB returning to an offense that averaged 200+ rushing are 58-25 ATS in the first month of the season. Play TCU.

CHEEZ-IT BOWL - California limps into the bowl with a stumbling offense, scoring 12, 13, 15, and 13 points in four of its last five games. Earlier in the season, they scored 17 and 7 points in losses to Arizona and UCLA. The Bears rank #109 in the nation in points scored (22.8 per game) and #101 in passing yards. California comes off a 23-13 loss to rival Stanford. They failed to make a bowl last season losing seven of their final nine games and is on a 9-12 straight up run. They face a strong Texas Christian defense allowing 24.4 points per contest, anchored by two of the top defensive ends in the country in first-team All-Big 12 selections Ben Banogu and L.J. Collier, who combined for 12.5 sacks. The Horned Frogs have won six straight games against Pac-12 opponents under coach Gary Patterson, including a 39-37 victory over Stanford in last year's Alamo Bowl. They also topped Oregon of the Pac-12 in a bowl three years ago, 47-41, as a +7 dog. The wagering value is on the Horned Frogs to win the game. Play TCU on the moneyline.