California Golden Bears Odds

California Golden Bears Football 2024

The California Golden Bears will play their first season in the ACC in 2024 after culminating their time in the Pac-12 last season with a 14th consecutive losing conference record. Running back Jaydn Ott was one of the top rushers in the country and Cal found some offensive success toward the end of the season, but inconsistency plagued what ultimately was a 6-7 season in 2023.

Our preseason college football power ratings are high on Cal in 2024, with the Golden Bears ranked at No. 33. However, wins might not come easy for the Golden Bears, who will play at Auburn and at Florida State within the first four weeks of the season.

Here's how you can bet on Cal this season, and some key things to know.

Betting on the California Golden Bears

Cal Point Spreads

With spread bets, underdogs don’t have to win the game, just lose by less than the spread; favorites, meanwhile, have to win by more than the spread for their tickets to win. In this way, spreads aren’t just bets on who wins the game, but by how much.

Here’s how the spread for Stanford vs. Cal might look at a sportsbook like DraftKings or FanDuel:

• Stanford -3 (-110)
• Cal +3 (-110)

If the Cardinal win by a single point, say 21-20, then they win the game but spread bets on them lose. For the Cardinal to cover, they need to win by four or more. Cal has the opposite route to an against-the-spread victory here, only needing to lose by two or fewer points. Of course, winning the game outright is also a "cover" for the underdog Golden Bears.

FAQ: Everything you need to know about point spreads

Cal Over/Unders

Instead of betting on how much they’ll win or lose by, you could also bet on how many points the Golden Bears and their opponents will score collectively. This is called an over/under (or totals) bet. Oddsmakers pick a number, and you can bet whether the teams will score more (over) or less (under) than that many points.

Say a game against Colorado had a total set at 51.5 points. If you placed a bet on the over, a 24-21 game doesn’t do it for you, as you'd need at least 52 total points for your bet to cash. Under bettors are holding winning tickets here, as they would win in any game in which the score adds up to 51 or fewer points.

FAQ: Betting the point total, explained | What is a push?

Cal Moneylines

While spread bets depend on the amount of the victory, moneyline bets are a bit simpler, as all that matters is which team wins. Cal has not had much success on the moneyline in recent years, but the example below shows us what it looks like to bet the Golden Bears on the moneyline.

If Cal is a +170 underdog against UCLA, a $100 bet on the Golden Bears would earn $170 for moneyline bettors if they win, while you would’ve needed to bet $170 to make $100 in profit if they were -170 favorites.

Moneylines are also commonly used when making parlays, which are multiple bets tied into one. Let’s say you bet on Cal's moneyline and the Over, both bets would need to win for that parlay to be successful. The risk may be greater, but so is the reward with increased odds. Use our Odds Calculator to calculate any bet amount or conversion.

FAQ: How to bet on the moneyline | How to make a parlay

Cal Props

Despite not having a ton of household names, there will still be plenty of player props available on the Golden Bears this fall. Player props are bets on individual players and are perfect for the fantasy football fan who enjoys projecting and tracking player stats.

If sports betting isn’t legal in your state or college props aren’t offered, you can use a platform like PrizePicks. It’s regulated as DFS, and allows you to pick player statistics to be more or less than the listed total. You can tie more and more stats together for bigger payouts.

Some props you could place on Cal in 2024 include over/unders on wide receiver receptions, quarterback passing touchdowns and running back all-purpose yards, among many more.

FAQ: Here’s how prop betting works

Cal Futures

Futures are somewhat similar to prop bets in the way both are monitored over the course of a season. However, most future bets are focused on end of season success. Examples of futures are:

• Cal Bears odds to win the ACC
• Cal Bears odds to reach the College Football Playoff
• Cal Bears odds to win the College Football Playoff

If you think Cal has a shot to win the ACC, this is the bet to make. These types of bets are called futures, and they're just wagers on things that settle at the end of the year. For a full list of college football futures, click or tap here.

Make sure to check out our sportsbook reviews for more information on what’s available in your state and exclusive sign-up bonuses and promo codes.