Bad Omen for Cal? Bears Double-Digit Favorites Against North Carolina

Cal has been made a double-digit favorite on three major betting sites as of Sunday, but that might not be a good omen for the Golden Bears.

FanDuel made Cal an 11.5-point favorite over the Tar Heels (2-3, 0-1 ACC) while DraftKings and ESPN BET Sportsbook both have the Golden Bears favored by 10.5 points.

That might seem like an optimistic sign for Cal (4-2, 1-1 ACC) as the Bears look for their fifth win, putting them within one victory of becoming bowl-eligible. But the last time Cal was a double-digit favorite in a game was prior to the Bears’ fourth game of the season, when they were 14-point favorites against San Diego State.

That turned out badly for the Bears, as Cal lost to the Aztecs 34-0, the Bears’ first shutout loss in six years. That was the only game this season in which Cal was favored, other than the home game against FCS opponent Texas Southern, a game that was not assigned a point spread by most betting sites.

Most of Cal’s success has come in games in which it was the underdog. The Bears beat Oregon State, which was a 1-point favorite; defeated Minnesota, which was a 2.5-point favorite, and knocked off Boston College, which was favored by 6.5 points.

The only favorite that beat Cal was Duke, which was a 3-point favorite when it beat Cal 45-21 in the Bears’ most recent game a week ago.

Cal and North Carolina both had byes this weekend, and while the Bears will try to bounce back from their loss to Duke, North Carolina will come to Berkeley riding a two-game losing streak. The Tar Heels lost to UCF 34-9 two weeks ago and were defeated by Clemson 38-10 last week.

North Carolina was without starting quarterback Gio Lopez for the Clemson game as the result of a leg injury sustained against UCF. It’s unclear whether he will be back for the game against Cal.

The only FBS team North Carolina has beaten is Charlotte, which is 1-5 overall and 0-5 against FBS opponents. Bill Belichick’s first season as a college football head coach has not started out well.

The Tar Heels rank last in the ACC in scoring offense, averaging 18.8 points per game, and are also last in the conference in passing offense. They are 12th in scoring defense, allowing 24.5 points per game.

Cal is not a lot better, averaging 24.2 points on offense and yielding 25.8 points.

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