UCLA Bruins vs Oregon Ducks NCAA Football Odds
Like many college football fans, I still can’t believe the UCLA Bruins ended the PAC 12 regular season with a 50-0 blowout loss to rival USC, and still somehow miraculously ended up representing the south division in the inaugural PAC 12 Conference Championship Game this Friday at the No. 7 Oregon Ducks.
Bruins vs Ducks
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, December 2, 2011
Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR
TV: FOX
LINE: -31.5 (Oregon), O/U 65.5
Do the Bruins have a chance? Or will they need to buckle up their chinstraps in preparation for another good old-fashion whoppin they are going to get from the Quack Attack?
The Bruins looked awful against the Trojans on Saturday, giving up 572 yards and 25 first downs on their way to losing to USC for the fifth straight time and finishing .500 in the Pac-12 (6-6). However, the Bruins received their invite to the title game because of Utah’s loss to Colorado on Friday.
Hardily deserving to say the least.
The Bruins defense was atrocious, forcing USC to only punt twice the entire game, while allowing the Trojans to average about nine yards a play.
Offensively, it wasn’t much better for the Bruins, who after marching down the field on their first offensive possession to answer the Trojans’ opening score, were stuffed on fourth down at the one-yard line, negating one of their best offensive scoring opportunities of the day.
Junior Jonathan Franklin led the Bruins anemic offensive charge, gaining 55 yards on eight carries as senior WR Nelson Rosario was the only consistent receiving threat for the Bruins reeled in seven passes for 118 yards from QB Kevin Prince who finished the game 21-of-33 for 261 yards and a pick.
In the meantime over in Eugene, the Ducks bounced back in a big way from their second loss two weekends ago to USC, by mauling Oregon State 49-21.
The Eugene Machine fired up its after burners early in this one and scored in the first three minutes on LaMichael James’ one-yard touchdown run. But the Beavers made it interesting–if only for a short time—on Sean Mannion’s 58-yard touchdown pass to Jovan Stevenson with 11:08 left in the first half.
Unfortunately for OSU, Oregon scored the next five TDs of the game on their way to rolling up 669 yards during its fourth straight victory over the Beavers, who lost nine games in a season for the first time since 1996. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Oregon offense was led once again by junior quarterback Darron Thomas along with some outstanding efforts from freshman running back De’Anthony Thomas, senior tight end David Paulson, freshman TE Colt Lyerla and junior RB Kenjon Barner, who all had a hand in putting the Ducks on top of the Beavs. Thomas passed for 294 yards, and threw three first-half touchdown passes.
The Ducks and the Bruins did not meet in the regular season in 2011, but the Bruins lost their last four away games by at least 25 points after splitting two with unbeaten No. 6 Houston and Oregon State.
At Autzen Stadium the Ducks imposed their will on all opponents except USC winning four of six games by at least 28 points.
Matt’s Prediction: Oregon 52, UCLA 16 —
The only thing that makes this one remotely interesting is the fact that UCLA will be desperate, as they need a win to gain bowl eligibility. They will need to pull out all of the stops early on if they want to end their mediocre season on a high, while preserving Rick Neuheisel’s job for one more year.
Nevertheless, I think the Ducks win by five TDs, so look for Oregon to cover here.
Welcome to the CappersPicks.com college football weekly predictions pages! We KNOW you will find our FREE weekly college football picks, tips, betting advice, strategies, CFB gambling articles and more to help you become the best College football bettor on your block!!
