California Golden Bears vs North Texas Mean Green Prediction, 9/2/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs North Texas Mean Green

Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023

Location: DATCU Stadium in Denton, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Mean Green (+6)

Total/Over-Under: 55.5

DATCU Stadium is where the North Texas Mean Green (7-7 last year) will meet the California Golden Bears (4-8 last season) on Saturday, September 2, 2023. California opens this matchup as 6-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total is 55.5.

The California Golden Bears finished the season with a 4-8 mark. The last time they took the field, the Golden Bears took the field against the UCLA Bruins and ended up losing by a score of 35-28. Jack Plummer connected on 24/34 with 294 yds through the air and 4 touchdowns. He had a QB rating of 182 and ended the game without throwing an interception. Jaydn Ott was the rushing leader for the Golden Bears with 13 carries for 55 yds (4.2 yards per attempt). Once the final whistle blew, they ran 52 plays for 361 yards. The California Golden Bears rushed the ball a total of 18 times and accrued 67 yds, which came out to an average of 3.7 yards per tote. In the running game, the Golden Bears gave up 352 yards on 64 tries, which is an average of 5.5 yds per run surrendered. California relinquished 21 completions on 30 attempts for 189 yards, and a completion rate of 70.0%.

The Golden Bears tallied 4,375 total yards for last season. California earned 23 touchdowns through the air and 10 touchdowns on the ground. They gave the ball to the opposition 12 different times. California compiled 232 1st downs as a unit, and they were flagged for 64 penalties for 535 yards. As a team they averaged 96.6 yards on the ground, ranking this team 122nd in college football. When talking about scoring points, the California Golden Bears held an average of 23.9 PPG.

In terms of passing yards, the Golden Bears allowed 3,354 yds which put them in 112th in D-1. During their 12 games played last season, they conceded 279.5 yards per outing via the pass in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 65.6%. They yielded 428.6 yards per contest putting them at 111th in the country. They relinquished 23 passing touchdowns and 19 touchdowns on the ground. Opposing teams ran for an average of 4.2 yards per run and 149.1 yards on the ground per contest last season. For the season, they gave up 1,789 yards via the ground game in 12 games. The Golden Bears were ranked 79th in Division 1 in terms of their opponents scoring, allowing 27.8 PPG.

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The Mean Green ended the season holding a 7-7 mark. In their last game, the Mean Green took a loss by a final score of 35-32 when they faced the Boise State Broncos. Ikaika Ragsdale carried the ball 21 times for 94 yds, ending the game with 4.5 yds per carry for North Texas. Austin Aune (1 TD) walked away from the game with 238 yds on 17/32 through the air while his QB rate was 113.4. He threw 2 interceptions and his average yards per pass attempt was 7.4. North Texas surrendered 49 running attempts for 315 yards (6.4 yds per carry). The Mean Green passing defense gave up a completion percentage of 59.1%, surrendering 137 yards on 13 out of 22 passing. The Mean Green finished the game with a total of 435 yds while running 76 plays (5.7 yds per play). North Texas ran the football for 4.4 yds per carry, finishing the game with 176 yds on 40 carries.

The North Texas Mean Green averaged 461.8 yards/game, which ranked them 22nd in D-1. The North Texas offense totaled 591 yards of penalties on 74 infractions, which was good for 72nd in the country in terms of helping out the other team. Last season, the Mean Green earned 3,667 yards via the pass not to mention an average of 261.9 passing yards per contest, which was ranked 37th in Division 1. When looking at how much they scored, the Mean Green ranked 28th in the country averaging 33.8 points per game.

North Texas surrendered a total of 2,764 rushing yards (197.4 yards/game) in addition to 27 touchdowns on the ground over the course of last year. They surrendered 24 touchdowns through the air and 262.1 yards per contest, which put them in 110th in college football. The Mean Green defense took the field for 1,058 plays, which was good for 130th in college football. The Mean Green allowed 31.7 PPG, which put them in 110th in D-1. In total, they surrendered 444 total points.

Who will win tonight's Golden Bears/Mean Green college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Mean Green +6

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