2010 Rose Bowl Preview & Pick
You know it’s been a strange year in college football betting when many people are anticipating secondary BCS bowl games like the Orange Bowl more than the BCS title game. The Rose Bowl, which pits Oregon versus Ohio State, may not give us the prestige of the national championship game or the fireworks of TCU/Boise State, but it could showcase an exciting Ducks offense at the very least.
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ROSE BOWL
(7) Oregon Ducks vs (8) Ohio State Buckeyes
Friday, January 1, 2010, 5:00 p.m. ET
Sportsbook favorite: Oregon -3.5
It wasn’t a conventional path to the Rose Bowl for the Oregon Ducks by any means – they were left for dead after losing to Boise State at the start of the season – but then the spread offense took over and, low and behold, Oregon starting routing opponents. First it was the 42-3 trouncing of California. Then it was the statement win over USC. Oregon’s powerhouse offense, which ranked seventh in the nation in scoring with 37.7 points per game, is downright explosive.
Everything starts and finishes with Jeremiah Masoli, who is already being heralded as a 2010 Heisman candidate. A rare quarterback who runs with power as opposed to elusiveness and speed, Masoli was a monster in 2009. He passed for 15 touchdowns and ran for 12 more, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Running back LaMichael James was phenomenal complement in the league’s No. 6 rushing attack; he ran for 1,476 yards and 14 scores, topping 150 yards six times.
Are the Ohio State Buckeyes a worthy opponent? There’s no questioning their defensive ability but many betting sharps think Ohio State got a free pass against Iowa, as the Hawkeyes had to play without star quarterback Ricky Stanzi. No matter how well Ohio State tackles on New Year’s Day, it won’t have a chance to hang with the Ducks’ high-octane offense unless it puts points of his own on the board. We know that wasn’t easy for the Buckeyes throughout the season and that Terrelle Pryor remains a work in progress. He topped 700 rushing yards but his mistakes went up this year instead of down; he threw 10 interceptions versus just four as a freshman.
There’s no getting around it; The Rose Bowl is about Oregon’s offense versus Ohio State’s defense. Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes are no slouches; they ranked fifth in the country in total defense and their defensive line, featuring Cameron Heyward and Thaddeus Gibson, is their best in years.
As tough as the Buckeyes are on “D,” however, I just don’t think they’ll scare Oregon. Check out the Ducks’ rushing totals within their conference: 288 yards against Oregon State, 391 against USC, 221 against UCLA, 236 against California. These guys are juggernauts and, while they romped some Swiss-Cheese defenses, they handled some good ones too; Arizona and USC were no slouches. It’s hard to imagine the Buckeyes keeping pace.
Pick: Oregon -3.5
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2 replies on “2010 Rose Bowl Odds + Free Betting Predictions”
One factor no one seems to be bringing up in this game is that OU has a senior class that has lost 3 straight bowls-two in embarassing fashion (although they were all BCS bowls against the #2 & 3 teams in the nation).
in response to shea-the ducks strength is the bucks strength.running the ball.but the difference is the defense.osu has much better stats against the run.and a better strength of schedule.so you know what i think.great defense stops great offense,especially against the run.stat history proves this out.i think the recent string of bowl losses for osu is influencing your judgement.it will be a close game unless pryor hits a long one aka the penn state game.