NCAA Football
2010-10-30 - Oregon Ducks at USC Trojans
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Football : United States : NCAA : Week 9
Saturday 30 October 2010 - Kickoff 8pm ET
1am (British Standard Time)
Preview
Things are all change in the PAC-10 as we come into this game. The Oregon Ducks (7-0) are now the dominant force in the Conference and have put USC (5-2) in the unfamiliar position of being the underdog. The Ducks also are ranked at Number 2 in the BCS Rankings and know they have control of their own destiny to compete in the Championship game in January.
Oregon have had 10 days to get ready for this game after playing on Thursday night during Week 8. The players remained focused on the task at hand and have been looking forward to this trip to Southern California. With 5 games left this season, Oregon know they will play in the big game if they can run the table.
The Ducks have won all 3 road games they have played this season but are only 1-2 against the spread in those games.
USC are not Bowl eligible thanks to some of their ex players having dealings with agents during the years they were dominant with Matt Leinart at QB and Reggie Bush at RB. In fact, this Oregon team has been compared to that USC team of 2005.
They are ranked at 24 in the Associated Press Poll even though they have not played a game in 2 weeks, having beaten California to end a 2 match losing streak.
There are reports out this week that USC have been playing in hurry up mode to combat Oregon. The Ducks are ranked at 114th in the Country in terms of time of possession which shows how efficient they are being, especially considering they have the Number 1 Offense in terms of total yards and points per game.
Head to Head
No USC fan needs me to remind them of 'Fright Night' last year when Oregon handed them their biggest loss since 1997. Now, almost a year to the day, USC get a chance for revenge.
Oregon have lost on their last 2 visits to Southern California and have scored a total of 20 points in those games
Oregon are 5-2 against the spread this season, while USC are 4-3 (1-2 at home).
The only common opponent for the teams so far this is Stanford- USC lost by 2 points at Stanford the week after Oregon had beaten them by 21 points at home.
Prediction
This is a chance to lay down the final marker for Oregon here as they look to win back to back PAC-10 titles. They also know the importance of not falling off the horse at this late stage of the season and the players come here with positive thoughts and focused on the job.
Matt Barkley has been playing some good stuff at QB for the Trojans and remains in Heismann contention, but he could be put under pressure if he tries to keep up with the Ducks who can score lots of points quickly.
This should be a fun game where I think Oregon will come out as 10-13 point winners so I will take them to cover the spread.
The Pick :
USC Trojans 28-41 Oregon Ducks
BEST BETTING TIP :
Oregon Ducks - 6.5 Points
