Arizona/San Fran. What effect will the smoke have? I lived in the Bay area during the horrific fire seasons of both 2017 and 2018. There were a few days that even when the fires were 100 miles away, like the Camp Fire in 2018, the smell of smoke could still be overpowering. One game in particular I remember was a mid October game of 2017 where Washington State was going to Berkeley to play Cal. WSU was 6-0 and ranked in the top 10. WSU was a 16 point favorite over the host Bears. I had no bet on the game; there seemed to be two main thought processes: the better team would assert their vast superiority under bad conditions while the underdog would give up and quit. The other theory was that the visiting team would get off the plane and say "oh shit, this is horrible. Let's go back", while the home team wasn't going anywhere, and since they had already been there, they were more likely to adapt. This is not much different than when a Florida or California team or NO has to go into a venue in the upper Midwest or New England or Buffalo in December with temps below freezing.
The result? Cal as a 16 point dog absolutely destroyed WSU 37-3. This is one game where the HFA is very real.
The result? Cal as a 16 point dog absolutely destroyed WSU 37-3. This is one game where the HFA is very real.
