Redbox Bowl Odds: Illinois vs. California Spread, Over/Under & Our Projections

Redbox Bowl Odds: Illinois vs. California

• Odds: Cal -6
• Over/Under: 44
• Date: Monday, Dec. 30, 2019
• Time: 4 p.m. ET
• TV channel: FOX
• Location: Santa Clara, Calif

Odds as of Sunday afternoon. Get live college football odds here.

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Illinois Betting Stats & 2019 Season Profile

• Season Record: 6-6
• Against-the-Spread Record: 8-4
• Conference: Big Ten
• Offense Yards Per Play Rank: 118
• Defense Yards Per Play Rank: 63
• S&P+ Special Teams Rank: 9

Analysis: Listen, I’m an Illinois alum and I’m really happy that they won six games and qualified for a bowl. The problem is that the Illini are the luckiest team in the nation. They’ve recovered almost every fumble that hit the turf. Quarterbacks just throw the ball to them in their own end zone. Centers snap the ball of the quarterback’s head, leading to easy touchdowns. To further illustrate this point, Illinois ranks 105th in yards per play on offense and 42nd in points per play. That’s because they score a ton of defensive touchdowns and face short fields. Havoc is a real thing, but Illinois is due for some serious regression. I’ll be looking to fade Illinois one last time in 2019 in their bowl game. –Kyle Miller

All stats are regular season only

California Betting Stats & 2019 Season Profile

• Season Record: 7-5
• Against-the-Spread Record: 6-6
• Conference: Pac-12
• Offense Yards Per Play Rank: 113
• Defense Yards Per Play Rank: 42
• S&P+ Special Teams Rank: 120

Analysis: It feels like a miracle this Cal team won six games, but having a great defense in a bad conference will do that. The Bears dealt with quarterback injuries and ranked 100th or worse in pretty much every offensive category — success rate, points per possession, explosiveness, you name it. The defense wasn’t top-20 good, but it was strong enough to win a bunch of close games. Overall, though, Cal was fortunate to win some of those games: The Bears had three victories in which they had a negative success rate, tied for third most in the country. — Steve Petrella

All stats are regular season only

Redbox Bowl Projections & Picks

• Our projected spread: California -6.5
• Our projected over/under: 39.48