San Diego Poinsettia Bowl Betting Odds

Opening Line: Utah +3 / Cal -3 O/U 52.5

Time: 8 PM EST Wednesday December 23, 2009 on ESPN

The California Golden Bears face the Utah Utes in the San Diego Poinsettia Bowl. Utah did not end the season well losing 2 of their last 3 games, but those losses were against 2 ranked teams in BYU and undefeated TCU. One the other hand Cal won 2 of their last 3 games and both wins were against ranked teams, but they did nose their season finale to Washington, which may have hurt their chances of playing closer to the New Year. Utah has won 8 bowl games in a row and their solid defense will be tested by a legit Cal offense, but the big question for the Golden Bears is, will RB Jahvid Best play?

This season Utah was 5-7 ATS and Cal was 5-6 ATS.

Cal has the nation's 46th ranked offense led by QB Kevin Riley (2,636 yds 17 TD 6 INT). He may have to move the chains if Best cannot play. Best missed the last 3 games of the season with a concussion after a scary fall in the end zone. If Beat can play it will really help the Bears out, as the Utah D will not only focus on stopping the pass. Best cracked the 100 yards barrier in 5 of the 8 games he played in and he averaged a solid 6.1 yards per carry. Utah as the nation's 20th ranked defense and they are better against the pass, ranking 14th, than the run, ranking 57th. If Best can play and plays well the Utes may be in trouble, as they are not the best team at defending the run.

Utah ranks 54th in the nation on offense and they are led by Jordan Wynn (991 yds 5 TD 3 INT), who is a freshman and took over the position in the middle of the season and his main target is (75 rec 1,085 yds 5 TD). The big weapon for the Utes on offense is RB Eddie Wide (1,032 yds 12 TD), who averaged 5.7 yards per carry this season. Cal's defense ranks 70th in the nation and while they are solid at defending the run, ranking 27th in the nation, they are weak in defending the pass ranking 108th. The Bears have to pressure the young QB and hope he cracks, as their secondary may be in for a long night it Wynn has a good game. Cal's defense has given up just under 30 points a game in their last 4 games.

Utah is a solid team and so is Cal, but the Golden Bears may be without their best player and their passing defense is very suspect and has been struggling lately.

Our Selection : Here are some interesting numbers for to mull over. The Utes have lost 3 games on the road this season. In all 3 games they were outyarded on the ground by their opponent and when matched against a top 40 run defense (TCU 3rd, BYU 23rd, Oregon 39th) the Utes are a perfect 0-3, losing by a combined 37 ponts.

California's run D has been stout this season ranking 27th in the nation in yards per rush while Utah ranked a middle of the pack 57th. The Golden Eagles also have an edge on rushing offense, ranking 37th in the nation while Utah ranked 45th. While the ranking difference may appear marginal, a closer look at numbers shows that the Utes also faced a much easier schedule playing against the porous rushing defenses of 119th ranked San Jose State, 110th ranked Utah St, 93rd ranked Wyoming, 85th ranked San Diego St, 84th Louisville, 83rd ranked New Mexico and 73rd Colorado State. The Golden Bears will most likely be without all world RB J. Best, but back up S. Vereen has played well in his absense and should carry California to an easy victory. Take California -3


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