Oregon Ducks (2-0) -7.5 at Purdue Boilermakers (1-0) +7.5 Saturday September 13 Ross-Ade Stadium (62,500) West Lafayette, Indiana 3:30 EST
by Wilson of Predictem.com
The 16th ranked Oregon Ducks travel to Indiana this weekend to battle the Boilermakers of Purdue in a game of two unbeaten teams. The Ducks are coming off of a 66-24 win against Utah State, while the Boilermakers only game so far this year was a 42-10 pounding of Northern Colorado last Saturday.
Oregon, 2-0 ATS so far this season, have been successful on both sides of the ball. The Ducks have put up some impressive numbers offensively and have easily covered the spread in both of their wins this season against the Washington Huskies (44-10) and the Aggies (66-24) as mentioned above.
The Ducks have a unique quality that most teams do not; multiple quarterbacks! Justin Roper, who went down in the Washington game with a concussion was replaced by back-up QB Jeremiah Masoli, a junior college transfer. Masoli played well, and showed his speed and decent arm as he closed out the game.
In the Ducks win over Utah State, Roper returned behind center to complete 13 of 18 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for another touchdown. Oregon coach, Mike Bellotti took this opportunity to give yet, another young QB some time. Freshmen Chris Harper replaced Roper and connected on 4 of 6 passes for 40 yards. So, the Ducks suddenly have three QBs who have already seen quality time early in the season. This may help them down the road given an untimely injury.
Purdue (1-0 ATS), on the other hand will be ready to hand Oregon their first loss of the season if they can some how slow down the high flying and running Duck attack. Time of possession will be a factor as well. The Ducks are averaging 26 minutes per game while the Boilermakers held the ball for 22 minutes in their opener.
The Boilermakers special teams will take the field again this week with high hopes of repeating their performance from a week ago when they blocked two punts, scored a touchdown off of a blocked punt, and averaged 39 yards per kickoff return.
12th-year Purdue head coach Joe Tiller looks to become the all-time winningest coach in school history. Tiller, who is referred to as the Godfather of the spread offense, will put his 53-18 home record on the line this Saturday.
The schedule doesnt get much easier for Purdue outside of Central Michigan as they have Notre Dame, Penn State, and Ohio State back to back to back. Playing the Ducks might just be the best test for the Boilermakers as they head into their conference play.
Both the Ducks and Boilermakers can score with lightning speed, and precision. The O/U might be higher than most people would like, but given these two offensive machines I wouldnt be surprised to see a 60 point total or more.
This game is the first of two Big-Ten vs. Pac-10 matchups this Saturday as USC goes head to head with Ohio State at 8:00 EST.
Wilsons Pick: The Oregon Ducks have looked great at home vs. two somewhat weak opponents. These guys are not the same team on the road though. I look for Purdue to win STRAIGHT UP as a 7 point underdog Saturday afternoon!
