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It’s PAC-12 versus SEC on a neutral venue as the Oregon Ducks take on the Auburn Tigers in a showdown of ranked teams at the Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.
The Oregon Ducks finished with a 9-4 record during the first season of head coach Mario Cristobal. This was an improvement from the 7-6 record they had the year before. It could have gone better as the Ducks opened the season at 5-1 before losing three out of four games. They finally settled with three wins to end the season, including a win over Michigan State in the RedBox Bowl.
Justin Herbert is back to run the offense. Herbert threw for 3,151 yards with 29 touchdowns and 8 interceptions on 240-404 passing. He will have CJ Verdell back to run the football. Verdell ran for 1018 yards with 10 scores on 202 carries last season. Travis Dye who rushed for 739 yards with four TDs will provide a 1-2 punch on the ground.
Auburn was 8-5 under Gus Malzahn last season and three of their losses were to ranked teams. They were 2-3 against the top teams, beating Washington and Texas A&M but losing to LSU, Georgia, and Alabama. They however closed out their season on a high note after winning the Music City Bowl with a 63-14 pounding of Purdue.
The Tigers have 14 starters, seven on each side of the field, back which should give them continuity this season. The offensive line boasts the experience of five seniors which should help the transition for new quarterback Bo Nix who beat fellow freshman Joey Gatewood for the starting QB job. Nix was the #1 dual-threat quarterback in the nation during the 2019 recruiting cycle and was named as Mr. Alabama Football in 2018.
Who Wins?
Oregon is 4-2 SU in their last six games played. The Ducks are 5-1 SU in their last six August games played and 11-2 SU in their last 13 week 1 game. Auburn is 4-1 SU in their last five games played and the Tigers are 5-0 SU in their last five August games played but are 4-11 SU in their last 15 games like football betting underdogs.
I think this is a good opening week matchup between ranked teams. I find both teams pretty much even with good coaching and veterans returning. They both have settled offenses and solid defense which could easily cross out each other. However, the difference in this game is behind the center because while Auburn has a rookie quarterback, Oregon will be run by the veteran Justin Herbert who is a proven commodity. I’m going with Herbert here. Prediction: Oregon
Other Bets To Make
The Ducks are 4-2 ATS in their last six games played. Oregon is 4-1 ATS in their last five games as betting favorites. The Tigers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games played on a Saturday.
Oregon
+3.5 (-110)
Auborn
-3.5 (-110)
Odds were taken from Mybookie.ag as of 8/27/19
Anytime you have one of the country’s best quarterbacks, you have to put your money on him. On the other side, Auburn is parading a new quarterback and that could spell all the difference in this game. Prediction: Oregon +3.5
The under is 12-4 in Oregon’s last 16 games played and the under is also 5-1 in the Ducks’ last six games against Pacific 12 teams. The total has gone under in 11 out of the last 14 Saturday games played by Oregon. The under is 6-2 in Auburn’s last eight games played. The over is 5-1 in the Tigers’ last six Southeast Conference opponents and over in each of their last five-week 1 game played.
Oregon
O 55.5 -110
Auborn
U 55.5 -110
Odds were taken from Mybookie.ag as of 8/27/19
Oregon averaged over 34 points per game last season with Herbert throwing the football. A year later and wiser, I like Herbert to pick the Auburn defense apart here with his passing game. I think this goes over 55 points. Prediction: Over 55.5
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