Oregon Ducks at Arizona St Sun Devils, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 10:30 pm EST, TV: Fox Sports Net
Opening Line: Oregon -9 1/2
Current Line: Oregon -12
Opening Total: 54
Current Total: 56
Money Line: Oregon -460 / Arizona St +380
Odds taken from Bookmaker Sportsbook & Casino
Coach Chip Kelly takes his high-flying Oregon Ducks into Tempe to take on Dennis Erickson at the Arizona St. Sundevils. Arizona St is coming off a heartbreaking loss at Wisconsin 20-19. The Badgers blocked an extra point that would have tied the game late in the fourth to win by the single point. Meanwhile, Oregon is 3-0 and outscored its three opponents 189-13 so far this season. Oregon has won and covered the three times they have come to Tempe, including twice as an underdog. Oregon is actually 5-0 against the spread in the last five meetings between the teams.
Oregon is putting up some mind-boggling video game like numbers so far this season. Quarterback Darren Thomas has thrown for 562 yards 8 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. His yardage numbers are pretty low, but you also have to consider that he was taken out at halftime of routs against New Mexico and Portland St. The real weapon on offense is the rushing attack which has 1142 yards and 12 touchdowns so far this season. Six players have 15 or more carries. Three Duck running backs have over 200 yards rushing and at least 2 touchdowns. LeMichael James ( 30 carries, 361 yards, 3 touchdowns), Remene Alston Jr., (43, 209, 2), and Kenjon Barner (27, 201, 4) have all had great success running the ball. Receiver Jeff Maehl has 13 catches for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Ducks are giving up less than 200 yards a game and have forced 5 turnovers and 5 sacks so far this season. It really is incredible when you see Oregon has outgained its opponents 1835-580. That is almost 612 yards a game on average!
Arizona St has a strong defense and an up-tempo spread offense that keeps teams off balance. The Sun Devils were able to generate 380 yards of offense but not a lot of points. The trip to Wisconsin was their first real test, as they played Portland St and Northern Arizona to start the season. Quarterback Steven Threet who transferred from Michigan, has been effective throwing for 841 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. this season. The Sundevils are rushing for over 150 yards a game led by Cameron Marshall (26 carries, 167 yards, and 5 touchdowns) and Deantre Lewis (18 carries, 151 yards, 1 touchdown.) Lewis also has 2 touchdown catches. Threet mainly throws to 3 receivers, Kerry Taylor ( 13 catches, 180 yards, 1 touchdown), Aaron Pflugrad (15 catches, 165 yards), and Mike Willie (13 catches, 155 yards, 1 touchdown.) On defense, the Sundevils are giving up 313 yards a game and 16.3 points a game. They have only forced 4 sacks and just one turnover. Against Wisconsin, after the Badgers blocked the PAT and recovered the onside kick, the Sun devils had 4 minutes to get a stop and were unable to do so. Their best strategy to keep the high powered Ducks offense off the field is for the ASU running attack to grind out long drives but that really isn’t the Sun Devils’ strength.
Gametime temps are expected to be around 100 degrees despite the late start time. Oregon has been dominant on both sides of the ball, and a win here will give them a leg up in the conference standings as they try to win back-to-back Conference titles. Arizona St also has aspirations of going to the Rose Bowl, and a victory against mighty Oregon would certainly help.
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