No. 17 Utah Utes (2-0) 0-2 ATS, 1-1 O/U at Oregon Ducks (1-1) 0-2 ATS, 1-1 O/U Saturday September 18, 2009 Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR. 3:30 p.m. EST, TV: FSN
by Wilson of Predictem.com
Point Spread: Utah +4/Oregon -4
Over/Under: 54
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The Oregon Ducks have not had the best start to the 2009-10 college football season. Oregon opened their season with a 19-8 loss at then No. 14 Boise State and they recently slipped by the Purdue Boilermakers last Saturday 38-36. Now, the Ducks will prepare for another home game as they welcome the undefeated Utah Utes. The Utes are fresh off of a win over San Jose State 24-14.
Utah has one of the nations longest winning streaks at 16 dating back to last season but they nearly gave the streak away to San Jose State on Saturday. Utah QB Terrance Cain threw for 231 yards and a touchdown on 18 of 31 pass attempts. Cain hooked up with Jerome Brooks for a 51 yard TD that ultimately ended any chance of a San Jose State victory.
Utah did not play well throughout most of the game until late in the fourth quarter. The Utes turned the ball over twice on fumbles, missed two field goals, and also turned the ball over on the SJS one yard line. Running back Matt Asiata rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. Wide receiver Jereme Brooks pulled in 5 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Brookss 51 yard TD catch was his longest reception on the day.
Oregon comes into this game after surviving at home against a tough Boilermaker team 38-36. Ducks QB Jeremiah Masoli was 11 of 21 for 163 yards but his only touchdown came on the ground. Masoli rushed for 84 yards on 14 carries and touchdown; his longest run was of 33 yards.
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The Ducks lost their star running back, Lagarrette Blount, last week after he lost his temper and jacked one the Boise State players in the jaw. One Oregon fan a had sign that read free Lagarrette but there will be none of that as he is done for the rest of his college career.
Oregon is uncharacteristically averaging just 23 points per game with only 254 yards of total offense. Last year the Ducks were putting up over 41 ppg by the end of the season with over 400 yards of total offense. This season is still young, but it has already shown what may be to come for the boys from Eugene.
The defense for the Ducks is giving up over 27 ppg which obviously is too much for any team to try and balance out especially with the poor offensive numbers. Chip Kelly certainly has his plate full of challenges straight out of the gate. If Kelly can find a way to regroup and motivate his players he has time to fix a potantial train wreck in Eugene.
The Las Vegas Hilton and almost every offshore casino are giving Oregon the home field advantage by opening the line in favor of the Ducks at -4, but if you can get a over to the Planet Hollywood Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard you will get -5 from their sports book.
The over is 17-5 in Oregon the 24 games in the month of September. Utah is 11-3 O/U in their last 15 games overall.
The quarterback battle on paper shows Utahs Terrance Cain ahead of Oregons Jeremiah Masoli. Cain has a 62.3 percent completion rate with over 500 yards passing and three touchdowns in his first two outings. Masoli has a 52.1 percent completion rate with zero TDs.
Oregon usually averages 38 points per game at home but I dont see that happening this weekend against a Utah team that is on a winning streak and searching for a BCS appearance.
Wilsons Pick: Utah 31, Oregon 28. Utah gets a rare win at Autzen. Luck to ya.