The Oregon Ducks fly south to face the California Golden Bears on Friday, October 21st in Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. The game will kick-off at 10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on the ESPN Network. The Golden Bears are -3 point favorites and the over/under is a whopping 87.5 points.
The Ducks and Bears will play their 80th game between the two schools this week. Cal still holds a slight lead 40-37-2 over the Ducks, but Oregon has won seven straight games against with the Golden Bears since 2009. In 2015, the Ducks won at home against Cal, 44-28.
Oregon (2-4):
Oregon is entering this contest off of a bye week, so the squad should be healed up and ready to play on Friday. The Ducks started the season 2-0 but since have lost their last four and rumors are mounting that things are stating to unravel in Eugene.
If things continue this way, coach Mark Helfrich could be unemployed at the end of the season. They were destroyed in their last outing at the hands of the Washington Huskies to the tune of 70-21.
Montana State Bobcat transfer Dakota Prukop has held up his end of the bargain for Oregon in his first six games. The signal-caller has completed nearly 100 balls for over 1,100 yards with eight touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Interestingly, it was true freshman Justin Herbert that started last week against the might huskies. His stats speak for themselves. Herbert went 24-39 for 249 yards with two touchdowns and a pick.
Thee Ducks are a run-first team and four different backs take their turns collecting first downs. Collectively, they have combined for 175 carries for over 1,200 yards rushing and an impressive 18 touchdowns. Royce Freeman leads the way with 513 yards and seven scores. In fact, the lowest average yards per carry between the four backs is 5.9.
Two wide receivers handle the business end of Dakota Prukop’s passes for the Ducks. Together, Darren Carrington and Charles Nelson have snatched up 55 passes for over 600 yards and three scores.
It’s obvious why Oregon’s season has gone into the toilet at an advanced pace just six games in to the 2016 season. Statistically, the Ducks may be the worst overall defense in college football. Oregon is slated in the 127th spot in the nation allowing over 520 yards a game. As a result, they allow over 41 points a contest which is good for the 125th spot in the FBS standings.
California (3-3):
California has not been able to play consistent football since the start of their 2016 campaign. The Golden Bears have two wins against ranked teams on their resume’, beating the Texas longhorns and the Utah Utes. California’s fourth ranked passing offense is a big reason why they are able to stay in games.
Jerrod Goff’s replacement has been all that and more for their coach Sonny Dyke’s offense this year. Davis Webb has posted some incredible numbers for his first season under center. The senior has already completed 180 passes for over 2,200 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
California runs the ball to keep teams honest. When they do, three different ball carriers share the responsibilities out of the back field. Together, they have ran the ball almost 170 times for just under 1,000 yards and six touchdowns.
Wide receiver Chad Hansen has caught 59 passes this season. The grabs have been good for 770 yards and eight scores. He leads a gaggle of seven wide-outs that have accumulated 1,150 and 18 TD’s.
The Golden Bears defense hasn’t been much better than the Ducks in 2016. They’re horrible in the run department, giving way to 283 yards a game. They also allow 40 points in a contest but have a solid pass defense (49th).
Trends and Notes:
The Ducks are 0-7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
The Golden Bears are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 conference games.
The Over is 8-2 in the Ducks last 10 games overall.
The Over is 7-1 in the Golden Bears last 8 games overall.
The Under is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings between the two schools.
Game Prediction:
On paper, this match-up has all the makings of a shoot-out. The Ducks are desperate for a win against a team they have dominated for most of the decade. Furthermore, Oregon likes to run the ball and the Cal Bears have one of the worst run defenses in football.
California has been an up and down team this year. now, they’re back home and get to square-off with one of college footballs worst pass defenses. That combination could pose a huge problem for Oregon being that Davis Webb will be taking snaps the snaps on Friday night.
Las Vegas just can’t set this line high enough. Over the last nine contest though, they have set this line high and the game has went to the under. The Get more sports posse believes there will be plenty of points in this one, but why sweat one bad quarter and watch your total go down the drain.
Play it safe and take the Golden Bears with the gunslinger in a shoot-out. California Golden Bears -3 is the recommendation for this PAC-12 offensive festival.
