Utah vs Oregon College Football Predicitons

Written September 16, 2009 by Rock Henderson

utah-oregon-predictions-091609 Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR will be the site for Saturday afternoon’s game between the #18 Utah Utes and Oregon Ducks. Oregon enters the game with a 1-1 record after pulling out a narrow victory against the Purdue Boilermakers last weekend 38 to 36. Utah comes off a 24-14 win over San Jose State to run its record to 2-0. The Utes hold the nation’s longest winning streak at 16 games. This is an important game for both teams and could provide a spark for the upcoming conference run. The college football lines for this game have Oregon -4 against Utah, with a total set at 52.5 points.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham keeps bringing in more talent to Utah and can no longer be taken lightly even though they cannot earn an automatic BCS bowl berth. Their 31-17 thrashing of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last January proved that the Utes have the players to compete with the powerhouse programs of college football. Junior college player of the year QB Terrance Cain has stepped in nicely to lead Utah’s spread offense. He is a dual threat QB that has thrown for 267 yards a game with 3 touchdowns. A key note for this game is a shoulder injury suffered by Senior RB Matt Asiata. Asiata is the leading rusher for the Utes and the heart and soul of the team. He is listed as questionable for the Oregon game and will be a game time decision. WR’s Jerome Brooks and David Reed will have to pick up the slack if Asiata is unable to play. The Ute defense held SJSU to 22 yards rushing on 22 carries but will face a much more formidable challenge with the Oregon spread rushing attack. Utah State ran a similar system in week 1 and ripped Utah’s defense to the tune of 265 yards rushing. When you do your college football betting this season, do it with $500 more when you sign up for a new account with BetUS and take advantage of their $500 match bonus!

Oregon comes into Saturday’s game facing their second ranked opponent in three games. The Duck offense has yet to find its rhythm as their numbers are down considerably from a year ago but the defense has stepped up scoring two touchdowns against Purdue. JR MLB Casey Matthews ranks second in the Pac 10 in overall tackles with 22 through 2 games. Chip Kelly is still looking for a RB to step up in Legarrette Blount’s absence and might have to rely more on the passing game this year than he would like. The Ducks have yet to score through the air QB Jeremiah Masoli has rushed for two scores. They are an impressive 5 for 5 in the red zone (4 tds 1 fg) on the year once they get there, but getting inside the 20 has been an issue. The Utah game marks the second of four straight home games for the Ducks in what will most likely make or break their season.

Utah has yet to be tested this season and it is unknown if they really deserve their top 20 ranking. Oregon leads the series 17-8 overall and are 5-2 against the Utes at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks opened as a surprising 4 point favorite. Oregon doesn’t have the explosive offense it has had in years past and while their defense is improved, it is still giving up over 450 yards per game.

Rock’s Pick: Utah +4

Score Prediction: Utah 31, Oregon 28

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