College Football Game Lines – Possible Pac-10 Game Of The Year

In past years, USC-Oregon was the Pac-10 game of the year. In 2010, Stanford-Oregon looks like the new showdown on the West Coast. Here’s a college football lines preview and pick.

Stanford Cardinal @ Oregon Ducks 
Saturday, October 2nd – 8:10 PM ET 
Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR 
Broadcast: ABC
College Football Game Lines: Stanford +6.5, Oregon -6.5 

Total: 65

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Say no more: The Stanford Cardinal have arrived. Now they’re ready to take on Oregon in a no-holds-barred bare-knuckle brawl for Pac-10 supremacy. What’s even better about this battle royale is that it should be a lot of fun. The Cardinal and the Ducks put on a show last year. They’re poised to deliver even more fireworks this time around.

The Cardinal destroyed Oregon’s defense in the 2009 meeting between these two schools. Stanford rolled up 505 total yards and scored over “half-a-hundred” points in a 51-42 win over the Ducks. The duo of quarterback Andrew Luck and Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart were too much for UO defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti’s charges. Stanford moved the ball at will and outpaced a lethal Oregon offense in a shootout of the highest order. Stanford also controlled the ball for nearly 38 minutes, an essential aspect of any game against Oregon. The Cardinal’s ability to impose their running game against Oregon’s front seven stood out as the biggest single ingredient of a wild win.

College Football Game Lines : What Stanford Has To Do To Win 

The formula hasn’t changed since last year. Stanford Cardinal has to control the ball and score touchdowns whenever it gets into the red zone. This year, Toby Gerhart isn’t around, but Stanford is continuing to employ a distinctly physical style of football mixed with vertical play-action passing. Stanford is loaded with talent, a reality indicated by last Saturday’s 37-14 win at Notre Dame. The Cardinal pounded the Fighting Irish and frankly left a ton of points on the field. Stanford had to kick four straight field goals in succession, yet still managed to win by 23 points in one of college football’s more daunting environments. If Stanford can max out, it will not only play this game close; it will win. The red zone is going to decide this game. We’ll see if Harbaugh can come up with good plays near the goal line, and we’ll also find out if Luck can execute with ruthless consistency. 

College Football Game Lines : What Oregon Has To Do To Win

The Ducks, for their part, have a remarkable ability to score in a lightning-quick manner. Oregon has had only three possessions this season that have lasted over four minutes. Quarterback Darron Thomas has picked up the offense with a fluidity few expected after the departure of former quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to Ole Miss. Oregon uncorked a 35-point second half against a solid Tennessee defense on Sept. 11. The Ducks then hit multiple big plays of 40 yards or more in a 42-31 win over Arizona State on Sept. 25. This team can score from any place on the field at any time. Few teams in America have a home-run threat at running back the way Oregon does with LaMichael James. The Ducks, under coach Chip Kelly (the recipient of a brand-new contract extension complete with a layered buyout provision), know how to exploit opposing defenses, and since Stanford has spent this season playing awful offensive teams – UCLA, then Wake Forest, and then Notre Dame, none of whom can move the ball with any appreciable consistency – Oregon is going to enjoy a decided advantage against the slower Cardinal defense. Oregon’s best offensive performance will give Stanford’s offense zero margin for error on Saturday night in Eugene.

The other huge key, alluded to above, is the red zone. Stanford relies on a ball-control offense, so as long as the Oregon Ducks can force the Cardinal to kick field goals, they should like their chances. After all, it takes only 90 seconds for Oregon to score a touchdown in most cases.

College Football Game Lines : Outlook & Pick 

The 93-point shootout staged last year at Stanford could very well be replicated in this game. All in all, Oregon should enjoy a comfort zone on offense. Moreover, the Ducks have been tested more than the Cardinal have this season. Then again, Stanford brings a level of physicality to this game, a bucking-bronco sensibility that could mash the finesse-oriented Ducks into submission. 

What’s likely to happen? Both offenses will thrive, but since this game’s in Eugene, Andrew Luck won’t make plays quite as consistently as he did last year in the Bay Area. Home field will give Oregon a victory, but Stanford will keep the game close and cover the spread. 

College Football Game Lines Pick: Stanford +6.5