Minnesota football opens as small betting favorite for road matchup against California
The Minnesota football program is sitting at 2-0 on the 2025 season and have outscored their opponents 89-10. As P.J. Fleck's program entered week three of the season, the Golden Gophers are a small road favorite over the California Golden Bears.
According to BetMGM, the Gophers are 2.5 point favorites over the Golden Bears with the early total for the game set at 44.5 points.
"The deeper we are, the better we’re gonna be for this ten game stretch of all power four football," Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said after Minnesota's win on Saturday. "Because now football begins. And that’s no disrespect to the first two opponents, but you all know what I’m talking about, power four football starts now."
California also enters week three with a 2-0 record after dispatching FCS opponent Texas Southern 35-3. They also defeated the Oregon State Beavers in week one 34-15 in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Golden Bears have been led offensively by true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele who has completed 46-of-67 passing attempts for 493 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
The matchup will be the seventh all-time between the two programs. California has won four of the previous six matchups including each of the last two matchups in 2006 and 2009. Minnesota's last win over California came in 1987, a 32-23 win in Minneapolis.
The week three matchup will also serve as Minnesota's final non-conference game of the season before starting conference play on September 20 against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Huntington Bank Stadium.
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