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Oregon Ducks vs. California Golden Bears Preview and Pick
No. 23 Oregon Ducks +3 (6-2) 4-4 ATS, 4-4 O/U/P at California Golden Bears -3 (5-2) 5-2 ATS, 5-2 O/U Saturday, November 1 Memorial Stadium Berkeley, California 3:30 p.m. EST
By Wilson of Predictem.com
The California Golden Bears will host the Oregon Ducks this weekend in a Week 10/PAC-10 battle that may have major bowl-game consequences on the line. The Bears, who have recently lost their offensive luster, look to stop the Ducks before they begin to fly. California is the early favorite at home by a field goal, but it's the Ducks who are ranked No. 23 in the country. Will the Ducks fall victim to the scrappy Bear's defense?
Both of these squads have experienced a struggle offensively as they have been peppered with quarterback issues nearly every week. The Ducks head coach Mike Bellotti started QB Jeremiah Masoli over previous starter Justin Roper, and California welcomed back QB Kevin Riley who recently lost his gig to QB Nate Longshore for two games.
California is coming off of a win over UCLA last week 41-20. The Golden Bear's defense was definitely the hero in this contest as they picked off four UCLA passes and returned two for touchdowns. Cal's defense took a lot of pressure off of the not-so-hot offense.
The Bear's offense took advantage of the cushion provided by the defense. QB Kevin Riley threw for 153 yards and 2 TD's while running back Jahvid Best rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears are averaging 37.9 points per game and giving up 21.7 to their opponents. Oregon will put points on the board as they average 41.5, but their defense allows nearly 25 per game. This game should be a shoot out with these kinds of numbers.
The Ducks fly into Berkeley after downing the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils last week 54-20. QB Jeremiah Masoli was 17-of-26 for 147 yards and a TD. He also rushed for 85 yards on 8 carries. Both running backs, Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount rushed for two touchdowns each. Johnson set the pace by darting for a 43-yard TD run on the Ducks first possession of the game. The Ducks dominated the Sun Devils from the start as they had a 141-10 advantage in yards during the first quarter.
Ducks previous starting QB Justin Roper saw action in the fourth quarter as he connected with Chris Harper for a 62-yard touchdown pass with less than 6-minutes to play.
Both of these teams will put up some points, but it will be the team with the least amount of mistakes that may be left standing in the end. California's defense is playing well, which is great timing as the Ducks offense seems to be ironing out the kinks and producing more each week.
California is favored at home but I like Oregon's chances to steal a win on the road. The Ducks lost at home last year to the Bears 31-24 and I bet they are looking for revenge.
Wilson's Pick: I like the setting for this game as both teams are similar by the numbers but I must stick with the Pacific Northwest here and give a Quack out to the Ducks. The Ducks get even after last year's loss and win by a TD 35-28.
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