PREMIUM
Rogers' *10* NCAAF Game of the Week (Friday!)
(NCAAF) Oregon vs. California,
Point Spread: 3.00 | -100.00 Oregon (Away)
Result: Push
Point Spread: 3.00 | -100.00 Oregon (Away)
Result: Push
The set-up: Oregon fans thought things were bad when last year's team finished just 9-4, after losing 47-41 (in 3 OTs) to TCU in the Alamo Bowl. I say "just 9-4," because the Ducks had previously won 10 or more games each season from 2006 through 2014, sporting a combined 80-14 (.851) record. Oregon had last weekend off and that has to be good news because after opening with back-to-back home wins of 53-28 over UC-Davis and 44-26 over Virginia, Oregon has lost four in a row. Cal has also been a disappointment in 2016, going 3-3 and just 1-2 in Pac-12 play, despite the fact that Texas Tech graduate transfer Davis Webb has made fans hardly miss QB Jared Goff, the NFL's overall No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft.
Oregon: The Ducks have not just lost four in a row (three straight in Pac-12 play) but the defense has been shredded to the tune of allowing 49.3 PPG. QB Dakota Prukop completed 66.2% for 1,173 with 8 TDs and just 2 INTs but was been benched after the team's third straight loss, replaced by freshman QB Justin Herbert. Prokop is probably wishing he had stayed at Montana State. Herbert is expected to make his second career start after completing 62 percent of his passes and throwing for 179 yards and a pair of TDs with one interception against an outstanding Washington defense which has allowed 14.2 PPG on 317.5 YPG on the season (one reason the Huskies are ranked no. 5 in the nation).
California: Cal is also coming off a bye week but it came at a good time, after QB Davis Webb was limited against Oregon State with a hand injury back on October 8. Webb is expected to OK on Friday and as noted earlier, he's thrown 2,256 yards with 22 TDs and 7 INTs, leading an offense which averages 42.3 PPG (12th) on 530.2 YPG (10th). However, Cal's defense is as bad as Oregon's (maybe worse?), allowing 40.0 PPG (123rd) on 494.7 YPG (121st).
The pick: Oregon's freshman QB will be helped by the Pac-12's league's top running game, averaging 257.8 YPG on 6.1 YPC. Friday's game plan figures to be filled with a heavy dose of Royce Freeman (513 yards on 7.7 YPC with 7 TDs) and Tony Brooks-James (331 yards on 7.0 YPC and 6 TDs) against a porous Cal run defense which ranks 127th (of 128 teams) by allowing 283.8 YPG! Eating up the clock will keep Oregon's "D" off the field, as well as Cal's Davis Webb on the sidelines. Yes, the Ducks are off to their worst start in 30 years but they've won their last seven games against Cal. Oregon is a 10* play.
Oregon: The Ducks have not just lost four in a row (three straight in Pac-12 play) but the defense has been shredded to the tune of allowing 49.3 PPG. QB Dakota Prukop completed 66.2% for 1,173 with 8 TDs and just 2 INTs but was been benched after the team's third straight loss, replaced by freshman QB Justin Herbert. Prokop is probably wishing he had stayed at Montana State. Herbert is expected to make his second career start after completing 62 percent of his passes and throwing for 179 yards and a pair of TDs with one interception against an outstanding Washington defense which has allowed 14.2 PPG on 317.5 YPG on the season (one reason the Huskies are ranked no. 5 in the nation).
California: Cal is also coming off a bye week but it came at a good time, after QB Davis Webb was limited against Oregon State with a hand injury back on October 8. Webb is expected to OK on Friday and as noted earlier, he's thrown 2,256 yards with 22 TDs and 7 INTs, leading an offense which averages 42.3 PPG (12th) on 530.2 YPG (10th). However, Cal's defense is as bad as Oregon's (maybe worse?), allowing 40.0 PPG (123rd) on 494.7 YPG (121st).
The pick: Oregon's freshman QB will be helped by the Pac-12's league's top running game, averaging 257.8 YPG on 6.1 YPC. Friday's game plan figures to be filled with a heavy dose of Royce Freeman (513 yards on 7.7 YPC with 7 TDs) and Tony Brooks-James (331 yards on 7.0 YPC and 6 TDs) against a porous Cal run defense which ranks 127th (of 128 teams) by allowing 283.8 YPG! Eating up the clock will keep Oregon's "D" off the field, as well as Cal's Davis Webb on the sidelines. Yes, the Ducks are off to their worst start in 30 years but they've won their last seven games against Cal. Oregon is a 10* play.
