Vegas declares Cal–Ole Miss will be a pick ‘em with an over/under of 43.5

The 3–0 California Golden Bears will be traveling back east to visit the 2–1 Ole Miss Rebels.

Vegas has set the opening line for this game as a pick ‘em; given that a home-field advantage is typically set to three points, this means Cal would be favored at home by about a touchdown or on a neutral site by a field goal. The over/under for the game is 43.5, so they’re projecting each team will score roughly 21.75 points. Can the Cal offense (plus any points from the defense) score three touchdowns? Will our famed and feared defense give up three touchdowns?

Cal has uncomfortable wins over the UC Davis Aggies and the North Texas Mean Green, but a great road win over the Washington Huskies and is ranked in the Top 25 in both major polls.

On the flip side, Ole Miss has wins over the Arkansas Razorbacks (2–1) and FCS’s Southeastern Louisiana Lions (which is 1–1 with a win over an FCS-ranked Jacksonville State Gamecocks); however, they’ve also lost to the 3–0 Memphis Tigers.

I would argue that Cal has a higher high, but didn’t look as good against weaker opposition as Ole Miss has.

The last time we played—in 2017—Cal won 27–16 at home. Both teams have the same head coaches (Justin Wilcox and Matt Luke), but Ole Miss has refreshed their offensive and defensive coordinators. With former head coaches. Who have played against Wilcox. Their offensive coordinator is Rich Rodriguez (1–0 against Wilcox in 2017’s double-overtime game) and their defensive coordinator is Mike MacIntyre (1–1 against Wilcox). 2019’s game will be just the second time our faced each other.