College football is going global to kick off the 2016 campaign! For the first time ever, two teams will travel to Sydney, Australia to play a game and provide college football fans with an early morsel before Week 1 of the season kicks off in earnest. The California Golden Bears and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors will play just the third college football game ever, and the first in almost three decades, in Australia this Friday in what should be a high scoring affair.
This contest in Week 1 of the regular season will go down Friday, August 26, 2016, at 10 p.m. ET at ANZ Stadium on ESPN.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Hawaii +20
California -20
Over/Under 63
Odds Analysis
The spread for this one has fallen a little bit from where it opened, but nothing too drastic. On the other hand, the total received a flurry of under bets immediately after the over/under opened but has since slowly crept back up to the original total of 63.
Matchup to Watch
Now begins life after Jared Goff for Cal. Goff’s production will be impossible to replace as he kept a Golden Bears team with a lot of defensive question marks in a lot more games than they should have been. The good news for head coach Sonny Dykes though is that he has an experienced quarterback in Davis Webb.
Webb put up good numbers at Texas Tech before being replaced by Pat Mahomes and should thrive in Dykes high-flying system. He has a strong arm and the leadership needed to command a team that lost a lot of talent from 2015’s squad. Webb is still learning the ropes of the offense, but Hawaii is a great team to begin the learning process against. The Rainbow Warriors’ defense was one of the worst in the country last season, allowing 35.6 points per game, and its S&P+ rating was 99th. Cal couldn’t have asked for a much better opponent to start the season against.
Look-ahead Situation
Hawaii is about to rack up some crazy frequent flyer miles. The Rainbow Warriors have always had to think outside the box in terms of travel with how far away the school is from the mainland and the costs that they rack up. The schedule it has this season might top them all though.
After traveling to Australia to kick off the season, Hawaii will travel half a world away a week later to take on the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House. Following that, the Rainbow Warriors mercifully get a home game before then heading out to face Arizona the following week. This is one of the most ambitious early season schedules ever in terms of travel and you have to figure if Cal gets up big in this game the Golden Bears could just pour it on as Hawaii starts to mentally prepare itself for the grueling stretch to come.
Free ATS Pick
Early season games can be tricky to bet on. Even the best, most veteran teams can show a bit of rust in the first game or two of the season and it’s a lot more difficult with a younger team. Cal only returns 10 starters from last season’s team, one of the lowest numbers of any team in the country, and loses the most talented quarterback it’s ever produced as well. That combination usually doesn’t bode well for a team trying to cover a large spread in Week 1.
Hawaii has a lot of issues of its own, but the Rainbow Warriors are the pick to cover the spread here. Cal won’t be in danger of losing this game, but 20 points is a pretty significant margin to have to win by. Cal has bigger fish to fry and just wants to get out of Australia on the right foot.
College Football Odds: Golden Bears 34, Rainbow Warriors 17
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
