NCAA Football: Mississippi at California
Stan Szeto / USA TODAY Sports

The 2020 college football season has been unlike any we've seen before with record-high coronavirus case numbers forcing the cancellations or postponements of 15 games this week alone. Both the UCLA Bruins and California Golden Bears had their original matchups for Saturday cancelled, but because the outbreaks were in their opponents' facility, the Pac-12 decided to schedule UCLA to host California on Sunday instead. Kickoff for UCLA vs. California is set for noon ET at the Rose Bowl Stadium. 

UCLA lost its opener last week to Colorado 48-42, while California will be making its season debut coming off an impressive 8-5 season. The Golden Bears are favored by 3.5-points, while the over-under for total points scored sits at 55.5 in the latest California vs. UCLA odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Before you make your UCLA vs. California picks for Sunday, check out the college football predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,900 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It is a sizzling 37-20 on top-rated picks through 10 weeks of the 2020 college football season, returning over $900 in profit already. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Cal vs. UCLA. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college football odds from William Hill and trends for UCLA vs. Cal:

  • California vs. UCLA spread: Golden Bears -3.5
  • California vs. UCLA over-under: 55.5
  • California vs. UCLA money line: Golden Bears -170; Bruins +145
  • CAL: The Bears have covered in eight of their last nine on the road
  • UCLA: WR Kyle Philips had 60 catches and averaged almost 62 receiving yards per game in 2019

Why California can cover

The Golden Bears welcome 18 starters back from last year's eight-win team and the defense should be an area of strength in Justin Wilcox's fourth year at the helm. Camryn Bynum was an honorable mention All Pac-12 selection last season at cornerback and he'll be back in the starting lineup this season after opting back in last month.

Cameron Goode will also be back and the senior linebacker should be one of the more disruptive players in the conference. Goode had 14 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks last season and he should provide a lot of pressure off the edge while Kuony Deng provides stability in the middle. Deng finished with 121 total tackles in 2019, ranking second on the team behind Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Weaver, who is now on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.

Why UCLA can cover

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson had a big game last week against Colorado for UCLA, which is 8-9-2 against the spread in Pac-12 games the past two-plus seasons. He had four TD passes, and he had 109 rushing yards and another score to go with his 303 passing yards in the 48-42 loss to Colorado. Tight end Greg Dulcich made huge plays for the Bruins, catching four passes for 126 yards, including a 52-yard TD. Running back Demetric Felton scored twice, putting up 103 total yards and a team-high seven receptions.

Defensive backs Stephan Blaylock and Quentin Lake make big plays for Chip Kelly's squad. Blaylock had a team-high 86 tackles in 2019 and led the team with 11 against the Buffaloes, and Lake had a sack and knocked down a pass. Osa Odighizuwa (three sacks in 2019) had a QB hurry and six tackles last week.

How to make UCLA vs. California picks

SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total, with the model suggesting the two teams combine to turn the ball over nearly four times on average. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine. 

So who wins Cal vs. UCLA? And which side of the spread cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the UCLA vs. Cal spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up almost $3,900 on its top-rated college football spread picks, and find out.