Miami (Florida) vs. Cal Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for College Football Week 6

Reed Wallach | 2 Hours Ago

Sep 21, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward (1) drops back to pass against the South Florida Bulls in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Miami avoided a catastrophic loss to Virginia Tech last week in its ACC opener and now takes the cross-country flight to Berkley to face Cal who has extra rest ahead of its first conference game. 

The Hurricanes have a ton of talent, but they proved they can be vulnerable to Virginia Tech on the wrong night. Will Mario Cristobal have his team ready for a tricky road game under the lights out west? 

Here’s our betting preview. 

Miami (Florida) vs. Cal Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Miami (Florida): -10.5 (-110)
• Cal: +10.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Miami (Florida): -400
• Cal: +310

Total: 54.5 (Over -108/Under -112)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Miami (Florida) vs. Cal How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, October 5th
• Game Time: 10:30 PM EST
• Venue: California Memorial Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): ESPN
• Miami (Florida) Record: 5-0
• Cal Record: 3-1

Miami (Florida) vs. Cal Key Players to Watch

Miami (Florida)

Cam Ward: Ward led the Hurricanes back from a double-digit deficit to beat Virginia Tech, in its first competitive game of the season. Despite two interceptions, Ward totaled five touchdowns with 343 passing yards in the 38-34 thriller at home. 

Cal

Jaydn Ott: The Cal running back has been banged up for parts of this season, but coming off a BYE week the hope is that last season’s 1,300-yard rusher with 12 touchdowns will hopefully round into form. He has only three yards per carry but will be leaned on heavily to produce against a talented Miami roster.

Miami (Florida) vs. Cal Prediction and Pick

The rest advantage is squarely with Cal, who will hope to have a healthy lead running back and catch a Miami team playing its sixth straight game of the season. 

While I question if Cal has the firepower to outplay Miami for 60 straight minutes, I do like the under in this matchup. 

First, The Golden Bears play at a slightly above-average tempo while Miami checks in 111th in seconds per play, so this game can feature limited snaps. Given Cal is the less explosive team, I expect we see head coach Justin Wilcox slow this game down and lean on its bend-don’t-break defense. 

Cal is 29th in EPA/Pass and 10th in explosive rush defense. The team has done a good job of limiting chunk plays this season and that’ll be imperative against the Hurricanes. 

Meanwhile, the Golden Bears have some qualities that can keep this game competitive as Miami ranks bottom half of the country in EPA/Rush due to its inability to limit explosive runs (131st in the country). 

I see the case for taking the points with Cal, but I fancy the under in what might be a low possession and run-first affair. 

PICK: UNDER 54.5 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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