No. 8 California Golden Bears (3-0) 2-0 ATS, 2-0 O/U at Oregon Ducks (2-1) 1-2 ATS, 2-1 O/U Saturday September 26, 2009 Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon 3:30 p.m. EST
by Wilson of Predictem.com
Point Spread: California -6/Oregon +6
Over/Under: Off
The California Golden Bears are on a roll and nothing made them happier than the way they destroyed the Maryland terrapins last weekend in a game that was all about revenge. Cal lost to Maryland last season in an early matchup where Bears star running back Jahvid Best was hit so hard by a Terrapin defender that he actually puked. This years matchup was a complete 360 as Best and the Bears brought their beat-down stick with them in a 52-13 route that left Maryland in a daze.
Cal is the real deal this season and a lot of that success is based on the whole team coming together. Bears QB, Kevin Riley was 17 of 26 for 298 yards and 4 touchdowns. Heisman Trophy candidate Jahvid Best carried the pigskin 10 times for 137 yards and 2 TDs with a long
The Golden Bears looked impressive as they piled up 542 total offensive yards, and they only committed 4 penalties for 25 yards and zero turnovers. Coaches always say if you want to win games then dont make too many mistakes and hold onto the ballCal did exactly as planned.
However, the Bears will have a tall order come Saturday in Eugene, Oregon which is never a pleasant place to play especially if its a conference rival. The Ducks lost a huge momentum game earlier this year at Boise State 19-8 which knocked them out of the top 25 as they were ranked No. 16 in the country. Oregon has regrouped although they did lose their start running back LaGarrete Blount for the remainder of the year. The Ducks have a ton of athletes and are extremely tough at home. Cal will need to play even better than last weeks performance.
The Oregon Ducks have been searching for identity lately and seemed to have found some shreds of it last weekend as they knocked off the Utah Utes, ending the Utes 16 game winning streak (the nations longest).
Oregons QB Jeremiah Masoli didnt have a memorable outing as he was really a non-factorpassing in the game. Masoli statistics were embarrassingly weak as he went just 4 of 16 passing for 95 yards and zero TDs while throwing one pick. However, Masoli is flight of foot, and he managed to make up for his weak QB play by running the ball well and scoring two TDs with the second TD putting the Ducks up 28-10 in the third quarter.
The Ducks had four turnovers which is something they simply cannot do against Cal or they will pay for it. Also, the Ducks will need to establish some type of pass attack if they expect to get the ground game working versus the Bears.
Cal is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 road games. The over is 18-5 in Oregon the last 25 games in the month of September. In the head to head matchup the under is 6-2 in their last 8 meetings.
The QB matchup is clearly in Kevin Rileys favor as he has a 64.8 pass completion rate compared to Masolis 45.3. Riley has nearly double the passing yardage at 698 yds to Masolis 379. Riley has 5 Td passes on the season to Masolis zero.
California has won the last three meetings and downed the Ducks last season 26-16 in Berkeley.
Most college football gambling sites have set the line at Cal -6, but the Las Vegas Hilton has it Cal -5.5.
Wilsons Pick: Look for a TON of points to be scored in this game with the Bears grabbing a rare win at Autzen! California 42, Oregon 35. Luck to ya.