Cal's Oct. 7 Game Against Oregon Set for a Night Kickoff

Bears are nearly two-touchdown favorites for this week's home game against Arizona State

Cal is favored in Saturday afternoon's home game against Arizona State, and the game time for Bears' home game against Oregon State the following week has been set for a night time kickoff.

Despite Cal's disappointing showing against Washington and Arizona State's surprisingly strong game against USC, Cal is listed as a significant favorite over the Sun Devils in their noon game on Saturday in Berkeley.

Most betting sites list Cal as a 12-point favorite in their opening lines, although SI Sportsbook lists the Bears as 12.5-point favorites in that game with an over/under of 50.5 points. BetOnline,ag had the shortest spread, listing Cal as a 10.5-point favorite.

Cal (2-2) lost to Washington 59-32 on Saturday in Seattle in a game that was even more lopsided than the score.  Meanwhile, Arizona State (1-3) was within striking distance of an upset of USC into the fourth quarter before losing to the Trojans 42-28.

Cal has not announced who its starting quarterback for that game will be.  Practice this week will determine whether Sam Jackson V or Ben Finley gets the start.  Drew Pyne, who was Notre Dame's starting quarterback when Cal lost to the Irish last year, is expected to be Arizona State's starting quarterback.  Freshman Jaden Rashada had been the Sun Devils starting quarterback, but he is expected to be sidelined for at least one more week with an injury.

Starting times for Oct. 7 Pac-12 games was announced Monday. Cal's home game against the Beavers (3-1) is set for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday, Oct. 7, and it will be televised by Pac-12 Network.

The game times for all four Oct. 7 Pac-12 games were announced Monday, and the only game being televised nationally is the USC-Arizona game on ESPN at night.

.

Oregon State (3-1) is ranked 19th this week despite losing to Washington State 38-35 on Saturday.  Running back Damien Martinez is the Beavers' star, but Deshaun Fenwick was Oregon State's leading rusher against Washington State with 101 yards.

Cover photo of Ben Finley by Joe Nicholson, USA TODAY Sports

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport