The Oregon State Beavers take on the California Golden Bears. Check out our college football odds series for our Oregon State California prediction and pick. Find how to watch Oregon State California.

Oregon State has no real margin for error in the Pac-12 Conference race. The Beavers have already lost a conference game this season, falling at Washington State. That immediately put them behind the eight ball in the race for Las Vegas and the Pac-12 Championship Game. Oregon State must finish at least 7-2 in nine conference games to have any shot at the Pac-12 title game. If OSU loses here in Berkeley to Cal, it would already have two conference losses with Oregon and Washington on the schedule later in the season. The odds of the Beavers sweeping Oregon and Washington are extremely low. This is a must-win game for the Beavers, a team which has struggled in Berkeley in the recent past. OSU head coach Jonathan Smith has to make sure his team is prepared for a road game. It definitely wasn't prepared a few weeks ago when the Beavers went to Pullman to play Washington State.

Cal is coming off a close win over Arizona State. The Golden Bears didn't play particularly well, but they did win. They still have a reasonable chance of making a run at a bowl game, especially because they won their season opener at North Texas and have three wins on the season. Any game Cal can win against a good Pac-12 opponent — a team expected to finish in the top half of the conference — will dramatically improve the odds that the Golden Bears can make a bowl game this season.

Here are the Oregon State-California College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Football Odds: Oregon State-California Odds

Oregon State Beavers: -9.5 (-105)

California Golden Bears: +9.5 (-115)

Over: 51.5 (-105)

Under: 51.5 (-115)

How To Watch Oregon State vs California

Time: 10:00 pm ET / 7:00 pm PT

TV: Pac-12 Network

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Oregon State Could Cover the Spread

The Beavers' loss at Washington State earlier in the season could be used as a reason to pick against them here, but in many ways, that loss could actually help them here against Cal in Berkeley. Oregon State was caught off guard by Washington State on the road, but Cal doesn't have anything close to the level of offensive firepower Washington State has. The Golden Bears have a very limited offense which managed only 10 points at home in a loss to Auburn a few weeks ago. Cal barely beat a badly undermanned Arizona State team, winning by only three points over the Sun Devils this past week. Arizona State was missing several offensive linemen and linebackers and still played Cal on relatively even terms. Oregon State is deeper, tougher, and healthier than Arizona State by a large margin. The Beavers should physically dominate this game over the course of 60 minutes.

Why California Could Cover the Spread

The Golden Bears were 2-5 entering their 2021 home football game against Oregon State in Berkeley. Oregon State was 5-2 entering that game. It didn't matter. Cal dominated from start to finish and won 39-25 in a game which was never particularly close. Weird things happen in Pac-12 road games, and Oregon State needs to actually prove it can cover a modest-size spread before being given the benefit of the doubt.

Final Oregon State-California Prediction & Pick

There is a significant gap in talent and line play between these two teams. Oregon State should be able to win by at least 10 points and cover the spread.

Final Oregon State-California Prediction & Pick: Oregon State -9.5