Nevada Wolf Pack at No. 13 Oregon Ducks (-26.5), Total 62.5 |
The Nevada Wolf Pack will open up their 2011 college football season against an angry football team Saturday in Eugene, Oregon, making an already difficult place to play even tougher to deal with.
The Wolf Pack finished the 2010 season ranked 11th in the AP Poll and enters this contest with a seven-game winning streak. The team opened the season with a bye week and is not ranked in any polls.
Head coach Chris Ault will be handing his pistol offense to senior quarterback Tyler Lantrip, who takes over for NFL-draftee Colin Kaepernick. The 23-year-old signal-caller has quite an early schedule to navigate through, with four consecutive road games against Oregon, San Jose State, Texas Tech and Boise State.
Nevada does return four all-WAC players from last year’s “Dream Team”, including wide -receiver Rishard Matthews, offensive lineman Chris Baker, linebacker James-Michael Thompson and cornerback Isaiah Frey.
The offense line is perceived to be a strength for the unit, as three starters return and has plenty of talented reserves ready to step in.
college football betting players will find that the Wolf Pack is 5-5 ATS versus Pac-12 opponents and 6-6 ATS on the road.
Oregon has won 17 of its last 18 home openers and will be looking to taste victory for the first time this season after being handed a 40-27 neutral field loss to the LSU Tigers at Cowboys Stadium last week.
The Ducks lead the all-time series with the Wolf Pack, 5-1, and have won five straight since 1996. It’s predicted to be the 75th consecutive sell out at Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
Running back LaMichael James was one of the few bright spots in Week 1’s losing effort, as he became the school’s career leader in rushing yards. He needs just six rushing touchdowns to take over the top spot in that category now.
Head coach Chip Kelly has been in Eugene for four seasons, including two as offensive coordinator, and the Ducks have posted a 23-3 home record in that span. Oregon has also managed to average 45.2 points per game.
Since 2000, Oregon has tallied a 29-6 regular-season record in non-conference action, including an 11-2 record versus the Mountain West Conference.
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Ducks are 19-7-1 ATS as a home favorite of 10.5 or more points, while the Wolf Pack are 5-9 ATS as an underdog of 21.5 to 31 points.
