Hit my big play last night to bring my bowl record to 7-6....My normal plays are 2*, but am making the following play a 3*....
Oregon+3 (125)....
There are many people, me included who think that the SEC is the best conference in the country, but there are others who rate the Pac-10 the best conference this year....Here is 1 reason why the Pac-10 may be better than the SEC this season...."The Pac-10 started this bowl season with a bad loss by Arizona against Ok.St., but then Wash.upset Neb. 19-7 as a 14 point dog & Stanford beat a very good VT team 40-12. Even the Pac-10 teams that didn?t make it to a bowl game represented themselves well this season, as Oregon St. played tough & covered against both TCU & Boise State, UCLA beat Houston (with Case Keenum at quarterback) & won big at Texas, & Az. St. lost by just 1 point (on a missed extra point) at Wisconsin. Only Cal?s 21 point loss at Nevada & Wash. 35 point home loss to Nebraska were bad losses by Pac-10 teams other than Washington State & Wash. got revenge vs. Neb. in the Holiday Bowl. On the other hand this season the SEC is 4-5 SU up in bowl games despite being favored in 6 of those games"....
This year OU has the #1 offense in the nation.... They average an unbelievable 79 plays per game & run 2.8 plays per minute....They crushed Stanford, who may finish in the top 5 in the rankings, 52-31....I think that their fast pace attack & their general speed will wear down a very average AU defense, who when they played against 3 good offenses, Ark., Ga., & Bama allowed an average of 459 yds at 7.0 yppl....
On the other side of ball, AU will also get their points, but I feel that OU's defense is over-all better than Auburn's....The OU pass defense finished the year rated #6 passing in the nation & OU usually rotates 8-9 d-linemen, so I don't think they will wear down as much as AU's defense....In addition OU finished #7 in the nation in turnove margin & the final stats show Oregon +12 and Auburn +5 in TO rate....
In addition, the yards per point numbers favor OU....They are 10.9 on offense & a very good 18 on defense for a total of +7.1....AU is an 11.7 on offense & 14.8 on defense, which is mediocre....Their total is +3.1....
The difference in this game could come down to special teams play & here OU has the advantage as they returned 5 punts for touchdowns & were +5 in special teams TDs, while AU was even in special teams TDs at 1 for them & 1 given up....
With Auburn & Newton getting all of the attention, I feel that OU may have the motivational & psychological edges....The Pac-10 has been disrespected for more than a decade for bowl season & as such Pac-10 dogs are 20-6 ATS in bowl games since 1997, including 16-2 ATS if the Pac-10 team came into the game at least 3 games over .500....
Good luck & Enjoy the game....
