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NCAA Football

Saturday Night College Football Preview

On Saturday night, there are few games with more importance than the 2008 edition of the Civil War between the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers. We preview this CFB betting matchup…

Oregon Ducks vs. Oregon State Beavers 7:00 PM

Thanksgiving Day weekend means so many things to sports betting fans, but on Saturday night, there are few games with more importance than the 2008 edition of the Civil War between the Oregon Ducks (8-3, 5-6 ATS) and the Oregon State Beavers (8-3, 8-3 ATS).

Both teams have garnered plenty of national attention in recent weeks. The Ducks rank 23rd in this week’s BCS standings, while the Beavers chime in at #17. Oregon State has won back-to-back Civil Wars, including last year’s thrilling 38-31 overtime victory in Eugene. The stakes may never be higher than they are this year though, as a victory for the host Beavers will send them to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl as Pac-10 champions.

Oregon has flown under the radar for most of the season, but the team has been playing awfully good football of late. The Ducks were off from college football betting action last weekend, but have rolled off wins in four of their L/5 games to assure themselves of a quality bowl bid in December or January.

The offense isn’t quite as efficient now as it was last season with Dennis Dixon under center, but the unit still quietly ranks 11th in the country with 458.5 yards per game, and is 6th in rushing at 268.1 yards per game. Both RBs Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount have a chance to be 1,000-yard backs this season. Johnson paces the club with 863 yards and 11 scores, while Blount has 817 yards and 15 TDs. Quarterback play has been spotty this season, as neither Jeremiah Masoli nor Justin Roper has proven to be as effective as Dixon was in his Heisman-type season of a year ago.

Speaking of sneaking up on people… No one seemed to realize that Oregon State controlled its own destiny in the Pac-10 after shocking the world when it beat USC earlier this season. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Beavers would lose another Pac-10 game, and the Trojans would be heading back to Pasadena.

Not so fast, my friends. Since losing to Utah 31-28 in the first week of October, the Beavers are a perfect 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS. They’ve averaged beating teams by 19.8 points per game during that stretch, including last week’s 19-17 thrilling victory in Tucson. With 4:00 to go, WR Sammie Stroughter found the end zone to make the game 17-16, but the Beavers failed to convert the PAT. However, they managed to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired to keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive. The biggest question this week for Oregon State bettors is whether RB Jacquizz Rodgers is going to be able to play. Expect the Ducks defense to take a giant sigh of relief if he’s roaming the sidelines come Saturday night.

The oddsmakers are planning on seeing all of the Beavers carrying roses in their mouths after the game, as they have tagged Oregon State as 3-point favorites, with the ‘total’ coming in at 62.

All of the betting trends point to the Beavers in this one, as Oregon State is 39-18-1 ATS in its L/58 games in Corvallis, and 15-3 ATS in its L/18 overall. The home team has covered eight of the L/11 Civil Wars.

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By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"