UCLA Bruins at Oregon Ducks
Thursday, 10/21/2010, 9:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Oregon -21
Current Betting Line: Oregon -26
Opening Total: 61
Current Total: 61
Current Moneyline: Oregon -4000 / UCLA +2000
UCLA returns to the road and faced off against the top-ranked Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon in front of a nationally-televised audience. “It depends on which game you watch as to what you see. They played as good of football as I saw when they went down to Texas and beat Texas,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said of the up-and-down Bruins. “We’re expecting a heck of a Pac-10 football game.” Bruins head coach Rick Neuheisel announced last week the suspension of receiver Josh Smith and fullback/tight end Morrell Presley for this game. Smith is the team’s top kick returner and Presley has started each game. The team had a bye week after a disappointing 35-7 loss at Cal that ended its three-game winning streak. UCLA is 8-13 ATS versus conference opponents and 4-16 Over/Under over that stretch.
The Bruins own a 39-24 edge in the series against Oregon, but have dropped the last two contests, including a 24-10 decision a season ago in the Rose Bowl. UCLA’s last win in Autzen Stadium came in a 34-26 victory in 2004. Neuheisel is 4-3 overall versus the Ducks and 0-2 while at UCLA. The program owns a 4-10 record when playing the No. 1 team on the Associated Press poll, with its last win on January 1, 1976 when it defeated Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Since that time, UCLA has lost six in a row to the top-ranked team in the country. A key to this game is a Bruins’ defense that held the Ducks to just 24 points last season, but that game has an asterisk next to it, as Oregon’s quarterback of last year Jeremiah Masoli did not play due to injury.
Oregon enters Thursday night’s contest as the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time in school history, marking the 43rd different school to hold that distinction. “We don’t have to talk about rankings with these guys,” Kelly said. “Whether we’re No. 1 in the country or 101 it won’t affect how we prepare.” In preparation of this possibility, the head coach closed practice during the bye week and put the team on a media blackout, as the team has a clear path to the national championship game. The team has won 13 consecutive games at Autzen Stadium, including 10 straight against Pac-10 opponents. Oregon is 18-3 in conference play since the start of the 2008 season. Over the last three years, the squad is 4-2 ATS after a bye week and the total is 4-2 Over/Under.
The Ducks must be very careful in this mid-week contest due to the last three meetings at Autzen being decided by 10 points or less and the Bruins were the last team to shutout Oregon, winning 16-0 in 2007. Oregon is 6-0 to start a season for the sixth time in 115 seasons and the offense’s 326 points to date is the most in a six-game stretch in team history. The Ducks lead the nation in scoring offense by scoring 54.3 points per game and total offense in racking up 567 yards per game. Since Kelly’s arrival in Eugene as an offensive coordinator and now head coach, the program is 20-3 at Autzen and averaging 44.2 points per home game.
Bettors will find the the Bruins are 23-10 ATS in their last 33 games following a SU loss, while the Ducks are a fantastic 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games as a favorite of 10.5 points or more. We are passing on tonights game but do have a huge weekend of college football picks lined up including a rare 20 unit release. Get these winners via our college football predictions page of the website.
