Odds makers have been giving Oregon near impossible spreads to cover; so far they haven't got the job done. This weekend's top 25 show-down promises to be a shootout! So, how do we pick the spread on this madness?
NCAAF: Arizona
vs. Oregon - spread pick
A battle
of Top 25 teams finishes off the college football schedule this week, as the #21
Wildcats of Arizona go into the great northwest to face the #3 ranked Ducks of
Oregon. This is one of five games between two Top 25 teams this week, and while
it isn’t the most upset prone of the five games, there could be some shifting
in the BCS Standings, even if all of the top seeds win.
College
football odds favor the Ducks by a big -24 points, however, that line has
started to creep down a bit since they opened. Now you can find Oregon at -23 ½
and even at -23 in some cases. This could be due to the fact that most of the
bets are on Arizona out of the gate.
A look back
Oregon
has run through their soft first three weeks of the schedule like it’s nothing.
They have beaten all three of their opponents by an average of almost 30 points
each. And finally, after playing a whole bunch of cake non-conference games,
they finally have to man up and play someone in their conference who actually
has a shot at beating them ATS and SU.
Now that
my rant on the current college BCS system is complete, I can actually talk
about Oregon’s rout of the small OVC school, Tennessee Tech in Week 3. The
Ducks wasted no time last Saturday, and after giving up the first score of the
game, Oregon went on to score 49 unanswered points. Oregon limited Tech to 62
yards passing in the game, and rushed for 324 yards themselves. Byron Marshall
had 125 yards on 13 carries.
Arizona
on the other hand has actually had to work to become 3-0 and enter the Top 25
rankings. They had a tough opening game against Toledo, which they won in
overtime. They beat down then #18 Oklahoma State 59-38 in Week 2, and then last
week, they had the easiest of their three games so far, as they blanked South
Carolina State 56-0. Quarterback Matt Scott had an excellent game in Week 3, as
he completed 30-36 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns.
This
week however, will be be the Wildcats’ first road game of the season. This
could go well for them, considering they have actually had to try to win these
three games, unlike their counterpart this week. However, the #3 Ducks are a
whole other level of opponent.
The Sharp Pick
Arizona
is 8-17 ATS in their last 25 games, however, the Wildcats have won their last
five games SU. They are only 1-8 ATS in their last nine games on the road, and
1-6 SU in their last seven games against the Ducks on the road.
However,
the Wildcats have covered in five of their last seven games against Oregon, two
out of three of those wins ATS were in Oregon. Last season, the Ducks went into
Arizona and won 56-31, and got the cover after being favored by only -15 on the
road.
Oregon
is only 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games, and only 1-7-1 ATS in their last
nine home games. However, Oregon has won 11 of their last 13 games against the
Wildcats.
Since
the Ducks haven’t been too good ATS this season, (0-3 ATS so far this season)
and since their ATS record against Arizona and their ATS record at home are not
good, I think Arizona has the cover in this one. Oregon will still win the
game, but I think this one will be closer that 24 points. My pick is to take the points with
the Cats.
Free College Football Pick: Wildcats +24