NCAA Football
2013-01-03 - Oregon Ducks at Kansas State Wildcat
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NCAA Football
Thursday 3 January 2013 - Kick Off 8:30pm
1:30am (British Time)
Preview
If it wasn't for a fateful night on November 17th 2012, this would very much have been the two teams that were going to play for the National Championship in a little under a weeks time. Instead, both schools will meet one another in what is the best Bowl Game outside of the National Championship Game.
The Kansas State Wildcats (11-1) and the Oregon Ducks (11-1) had the inside track to the National Championship Game, but both lost on the same night which allowed Alabama to leapfrog them and put themselves in the big game along with Notre Dame.
Both teams showed some real character in still getting through their final game of the regular season as the Wildcats come in as the Big 12 winners, while Oregon destroyed Oregon State in their final game of the regular season. Unfortunately, their one defeat allowed Stanford to play and win the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Both Offenses are very high-powered and it looks a tough ask for the Defenses no matter which of the teams have the ball. It should be a high-scoring game as both should be able to move the chains with a lot of consistency.
Oregon will look to Marcus Mariota to continue his stellar play from the Quarter Back position- while Johnny Manziel received all the plaudits for the way he played as a Freshman, Mariota won Freshman of the Year in the Pac-12 and has been brilliant for the Ducks.
Mariota threw 30 touchdown passes this season and he only had 6 interceptions and he should have a lot of success against the Kansas State Defense. They have allowed 255 yards per game through the air and the Oregon Offensive Line has protected Mariota enough to think he will have time to find his receivers in this one.
The Quarter Back has some real scrambling ability too and he, along with Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas, have been able to help this Offense record an average of 323 yards per game on the ground at 6.1 yards per clip. The Wildcats Defense have been pretty solid against the run this season, but this is going to be a real test of their capabilities.
On the other hand, the Kansas State team should also have success moving the chains, especially with their own ground attack. It all starts with Quarter Back Collin Klein who has 890 yards on the ground this season with 22 touchdowns. Klein and John Hubert have helped the Wildcats to 198 yards per game on the ground and they should be able to get things going against the Oregon Defense that allows 146 yards per game on the ground.
The one issue for Kansas State is that Hubert did slow down over the last 7 games of the regular season when he failed to reach 100 yards in any game. He had previously reached that mark in 4 of the first 5 games of the season.
Kansas State are less of a threat through the air as shown by the fact that Klein has 15 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions, although they still do big up the yardage in this manner. Oregon can get pressure up front, but Klein can scramble out of problems and the Wildcats Offensive Line has been pretty solid so far.
Both teams, as I have said before, will be able to move the chains. The key could be turnovers, but both teams lead the way in that category with Oregon picking up 38 and Kansas State picking up 31.
Head to Head
This will be the first time these two schools have played one another.
Prediction
The spread is coming down as the sharps continue getting on the Kansas State Wildcats, but I think Oregon will be a little too powerful with their Offense and they will pull the cover.
Chip Kelly's future remains unresolved at the moment, although he is scheduled to have interviews at the NFL level. It is clear that the players respect their Head Coach fully at Oregon and I think they will be feeling a little less 'sorry' for themselves of the two teams.
Both will likely have wondered about what might have been with the National Championship Game just days away, but I am going to look for the Ducks to have one key interception that turns the game to them and allows them to cover.
The Pick :
Kansas State Wildcats 28-42 Oregon Ducks
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back the Oregon Ducks - 7.5 Points @ 1.95
