Pac-12 Football: 5 teams on upset alert in Week 3

California has been riding on luck to start the season. Ross Bowers survived two interceptions in his first start at North Carolina, leading Cal to a 35-30 victory with 363 passing yards and touchdown passes of 10, 67, 54, and 20 yards. It was a statement win on the road for the Golden Bears in their first game under new head coach Justin Wilcox.

Bowers followed up that game with a relatively quiet home opener against FCS Weber State, finishing 20-of-28 for 200 yards with neither a touchdown nor an interception. California won thanks to a big day on the ground from Patrick Laird, who racked up two long touchdown runs and a third goal-line score to end the 33-20 victory with 191 yards on 12 carries.

In a showdown against another Power Five program in transition, Ole Miss, California will actually open the game as a four-point underdog. The Rebels play their first road game of the year effectively a touchdown favorite on the road, when you take home-field advantage into account. And this is despite sporting an identical 2-0 record.

There’s a reason the oddsmakers continue pushing up a spread that opened at 2.5 points on Sunday. Cal is not only going to lose, but they are going to lose big to give Wilcox a truly bitter first taste of defeat as a head coach.