College Football Handicapping Picks: Arizona Wildcats at Oregon Ducks

Arizona Wildcats at Oregon Ducks
Friday, 11/26/10, 7:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Oregon -17.5
Current Betting Line: Oregon -18.5
Opening Total: 61.5
Current Total: 62.5
Current Moneyline: Oregon -1000 / Arizona +700

Oregon Ducks Running Back LaMichael James — The Oregon Ducks are two wins away from an appearance in the BCS national championship game

Arizona is set to play a No. 1 Oregon team for the first time and get a crack at the top-ranked team for the first time in five years. “I think our players understand how good you have to play as a team and how disciplined and how quick they can strike,” said head coach Mike Stoops. “We had pretty good control of that game a year ago and they came back and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and executed very well.” The Wildcats enjoyed a bye week last week after dropping a 24-21 home contest to the Southern California Trojans. The program has played the No. 1 team in the country eight times previously, capturing victories in 1981 against USC and 1992 versus Washington. Arizona is 1-5 ATS versus conference opponents this year and the college football lines page has them listed as a large underdog.

The Wildcats defense continues to rank as one of the top defenses in the Pac-10 and one of the top units nationally. Defensive coordinator Greg Brown did joke around earlier this week about slowing down the top offense in college football. “Thirteen guys,” he said. “We’ve got a special petition into the NCAA to see if if they’ll go for it.” Arizona does enter the final two weeks of the season as one of only three teams in the conference that is bowl eligible. The offense has moved the ball well between the 20s all season, but the team ranks 111th nationally in red zone offense.

Oregon knows that tonight’s opponent is hungry for revenging a 44-41 loss in double-overtime last year in Tucson, which eliminated the Wildcats from any chance at the Rose Bowl. “Every year since I’ve been here our battles with Arizona have been real knockdown drag-outs and that’s what this is gonna be,” head coach Chip Kelly stated. The Ducks lead the all-time series 21-14 and is 11-4 against the Wildcats in Eugene. Oregon has won two straight and 13 of the past 16 meetings in the series dating back to 1994. The program’s .600 winning percentage against Arizona is its highest versus any Pac-10 opponent. The squad is 12-6 ATS at home the past three years.

The Ducks will have 22 seniors take the field at Autzen Stadium for the final time, with this class capturing the most victories of any class in school history. Oregon’s seniors are 27-7 in Pac-10 play, including a 15-2 mark at home. Many pundits have focused solely on the Ducks high-flying offensive attack that has scored 507 points, but the defense ranks first in the conference in scoring defense at 17.2 points per game.