OREGON 34 Oregon St 30 - For the 1st time in 8 yrs someone besides USC will be taking
home the Pac-10 Championship. It’s deja vu for OSU as they enter this Rivalry once again attempting
to reach the Rose Bowl. Their hopes were dashed LY in the 65-38 defeat (-3) to the
Ducks in Corvallis (tms combined for 1,157 yds). OSU is 14-7 ATS in the series and will have
the services of their top offensive threat TY in RB Quizz Rodgers (159 ttl ypg, 20 TD) who
missed the ‘08 Civil War. OSU also has renewed confidence in their pass game in ‘09 led by
QB Canfield who has passed for 254 ypg (70%) with a 19-6 ratio. In fact, OSU has covered all
3 of their conf gms as an AD (by 16, 14.5 and 24 pts) incl 2 SU upsets on the year. The Ducks
have had “Lady Luck” on their side virtually the entire ssn and benefitted from her again vs AZ
in Tucson a few wks ago coming back from a 10 pt 4Q deficit and prevailing in 2OT. While QB
Masoli (211 ttl ypg, 26 ttl TD) deserves much of the credit for running the Ducks spread offense,
the key has been the emergence of rFr RB James who broke the conf record with 1,310
rush yds (6.9) as a freshman. The home team had won 10 in a row SU in the series prior to
the L/2 seasons. UO is 3-6 ATS in home finales and OSU is outgaining road foes by 117 ypg,
so we’ll take the points here as OSU (6-1 ATS run) should keep this one close.

Arkansas St 28 W KENTUCKY 27 - This is WKU HC Dave Elson’s last game (fired Nov 9)
before former WKU great QB and Hall-of-Famer Willie Taggart (Stanford RB coach) takes over.
ASU’s Roberts may also be on the hot seat as it’s been just a 3-win (1 win vs IAA) season
for the RedWolves. RFr QB Ryan Aplin is the clear starter with Senior Leonard (right knee
ACL) out for the ssn. In SBC games, ASU ranks last in scoring (20.5 ppg) and WKU gives up
the most points at 41.0 ppg. Reggie Arnold needs just 62 rush yds to become ASU’s career
leader. WKU offers a strong 1-2 punch with rFr QB Jakes who 148 avg (58%) with a 7-5 ratio
and Soph RB Rainey with 657 total yds (7.3), providing great young talent that the Toppers
can build on. When WKU announced that Elson would not be returning he publicly stated he
was “shocked” and his players made similar comments. Since that time the Hilltoppers have
covered 3 straight and have been outgained by only 57 ypg despite being underdogs of 24, 21
and 14 pts. Expect an inspired effort in not only Elson’s final game but their only home game
since his release.

NY Jets 20 Buffalo 17 - Thursday - For the 2nd year in a row Toronto will play host to a struggling Bills
team that won’t have a needed homefield edge vs a div foe here. The Bills upset the Jets 16-13 as a
9.5 pt AD in OT thanks to 5 ints by Sanchez but they only converted them into 13 pts. The Jets wasted
a 414-296 yd edge with 318 yds (8.0) earned on the ground. The Bills have been blasted by inj’s TY
(15 players on IR) esp on the OL where Ctr Hangartner is the only starter in his opening day spot. This
has helped the Bills get outrushed 146 (4.3) vs 84 (3.7) over the L5W & they have been held to 17 pts
or less in 7 of their L9 games. The Jets have a sizeable edge with their #2 defense here & their BAL
style physicality will be emphasized. While Sanchez has only avg’d 147 ypg (49%) with a 3-7 ratio in
4 road games aside from the season opener but he won’t have to deal with cold weather (dome), a
hostile crowd (more Jets fans expected), has the OL vs DL advantage (#7 sacks allowed vs #22 sacks
by) & the Jets get the win here.