Oregon Ducks (4-1) vs California Golden Bears (1-4)
Game Info: Friday, October 15, 2021 at 10:30 pm (Autzen Stadium)
Betting Odds: Oregon Ducks -13.5 -- Over/Under: 54 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The California Golden Bears will travel to Autzen Stadium to take on the 9th ranked Oregon Ducks this Friday night in College Football action.
The California Golden Bears lost their 2nd straight game and dropped to 1-4 on the season after being defeated by the Washington State Cougars, 21-6, on October 2nd. California had no answers on the offensive end against the Washington State defense and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 14-6 margin. California won the turnover battle by a 2-1 margin, however, was outgained by the Cougars by a 332-273 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Golden Bears was RB Christopher Brooks who had 8 carries for 40 yards & 1 TD.
On the season, California is averaging 24.2 ppg on 407.2 total yards per game (249.0 passing yds/g; 158.2 rushing yds/g). Offensively, California is led by QB Chase Garbers who has completed 62.9% of his passes for 1245 yards, 7 TD, & 5 INT. Garbers is also the 2nd leading rusher for the Golden Bears as he has 196 rushing yards & 2 TD’s on 44 carries. The top receiving threats for California have been Trevon Clark (16 rec, 322 yards, 2 TD), Kekoa Crawford (14 rec, 256 yards), Jeremiah Hunter (15 rec, 238 yards, TD), & Nikko Remigio (18 rec, 100 yards, 2 TD). Leading the way for the Golden Bears backfield has been Damien Moore who has 314 yards & 5 TD’s on 62 carries.
Defensively, California is allowing their opponents to average 27.6 ppg on 400.6 total yards per game (281.4 passing yds/g; 119.2 rushing yds/g).
The 9th ranked Oregon Ducks dropped to 4-1 on the season after being defeated by the Stanford Cardinal, 31-24 (OT), on October 2nd. Oregon led by a 24-17 margin late, however, Stanford was able to score a game-tying TD to force OT as time expired in regulation and Oregon could not answer Stanford’s TD in OT after a 4th & 8 pass went incomplete. Oregon outgained Stanford by a 414-354 margin, however, lost the turnover battle by a 1-0 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Ducks was QB Anthony Brown who completed 14 of 26 passes for 186 yards & 1 INT while also rushing for 35 yards & 2 TD’s.
On the season, Oregon is averaging 35.8 ppg on 421.2 total yards per game (210.8 passing yds/g; 210.4 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Oregon has been led by QB Anthony Brown who has completed 56.1% of his passes for 950 yards, 6 TD, & 1 INT while also rushing for 198 yards & 4 TD’s. The Oregon backfield is led by Travis Dye (60 att, 382 yards, 3 TD) who will take over led back duties from CJ Verdell (78 att, 406 yards, 6 TD) who is out for the rest of the season with a leg injury suffered against Stanford. The top receiving threats for the Ducks have been Johnny Johnson III (11 rec, 162 yards, TD), Mycah Pittman (5 rec, 136 yard), & Jaylon Redd (7 rec, 119 yards, TD).
Defensively, Oregon is holding their opponents to an average of 21.8 ppg on 409.0 total yards per game (275.2 passing yds/g; 133.8 rushing yds/g).
The Golden Bears are 11-1 ATS in their last 12 games as a road underdog and 14-5 ATS in their last 19 road games. The Ducks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Friday games and 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games following a bye week.
California has been solid ATS in these spots, but after watching their offense at home against Washington Stack last week struggle, it’s hard to image that the Golden Bears are going to be able to put up many points against a strong Oregon defense on the road. Oregon lost CJ Verdell, which is a major blow to their offense, however, there isn’t that much of a drop off from Travis Dye who is averaging over 6.3 yds/carry. Oregon has been solid ATS off a Bye Week and as I expect Anthony Brown and the Oregon offense to put up some points against California’s 85th ranked scoring defense, I think Oregon pulls away in the 2nd half and wins this one by at least 2 TD’s.
Brett’s Pick Oregon Ducks -13.5
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05