The Oregon Ducks take on the California Golden Bears. Check out our college football odds series for our Oregon California prediction and pick.

The Oregon Ducks have earned a lot of respect in college football this year. The program, the coaches, the players, everyone has forced skeptical pundits to take note of the Ducks. Some critics said Oregon would need more than a year to fully reorganize after the departure of Mario Cristobal, and that young head coach Dan Lanning — who hired a very young offensive coordinator, Kenny Dillingham — would need time to grow into the job. Some skeptics said that Bo Nix was not going to make the grade at quarterback.

Those critics have been decisively refuted and silenced by the Ducks' performance this season. The loss to Georgia in Week 1 was far less a product of being mediocre and far more a result of going up against the defending national champions (whom Lanning helped coach last year). Ever since that game, Oregon hasn't made many missteps. A sluggish first three quarters against Washington State were the only times when Oregon briefly faltered, but the Ducks scored 20 points in the final four minutes of that contest to dig out a win. That game really galvanized the team and gave the Ducks a new level of confidence. They have been a wrecking ball ever since, delivering blowouts left and right and flying to the top of the Pac-12 standings. Oregon is in prime position to make the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Ducks are unbeaten in the conference — the only unbeaten team left in league play — and control their fate. If they win out, they will go to Las Vegas in early December.

Bo Nix is putting up phenomenal numbers at quarterback. He is benefiting from his previous player-coach connection with Dillingham; the two worked together at Auburn. Lanning used a brilliant onside kick last week against UCLA and repeatedly went for it on fourth down instead of punting. His game management is miles ahead of Cristobal, giving Oregon fans a taste of what it's like when a head coach doesn't stand in the way of his offense's evolution and development. It's great to be an Oregon Duck right now.

California has struggled in recent weeks. The Golden Bears were a good team in the first several weeks of the season when they took Notre Dame to the final play and hammered Arizona by 18 points. Then they fell on hard times, getting crushed by Washington State (which is 4-4) and then losing to lowly Colorado before scoring only 21 points in a home loss to Washington. The 21 points against Washington might not seem like a problem, but Washington had allowed at least 39 points in each of its previous three games, so Cal's offensive output was very disappointing. Cal coach Justin Wilcox has a lot of work to do with his team.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Oregon-California College Football odds.

College Football Odds: Oregon-California Odds

Oregon Ducks: -17.5 (-104)

California Golden Bears: +7.5 (-118)

Over: 57.5 (-110)

Under: 57.5 (-110)

Why Oregon Could Cover the Spread

The Ducks are a very good team playing great football at the moment. The Cal Golden Bears are a below-average team playing bad football at the moment. There isn't much else to say.

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Why California Could Cover the Spread

Check out recent Cal-Oregon games in the Justin Wilcox era in Berkeley. Wilcox, who is from Oregon, has given the Ducks a tough time. He beat them in 2020 and put up a fight last year. Oregon-Cal games sometimes get very weird, and the Golden Bears have shown an ability to play the Ducks close even in years when they don't figure to match up well.

Final Oregon-California Prediction & Pick

The Wilcox factor — the ability of Cal's coach to bother Oregon — is notable, but Oregon is on a big roll right now while Cal looks like an emotionally spent team. The Ducks win big. They're flying high.

Final Oregon-California Prediction & Pick: Oregon -17.5