Oregon
vs
South Florida
Dec. 31 / 2 p.m. CBS
vs
South Florida
Dec. 31 / 2 p.m. CBS
Call this the Battle of Teams that used to be ranked #2. South Florida was poised to make a huge jump to the big stage before running into last year's sweetheart Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ. The jolt of that loss was followed by two more losses against Connecticut and Cincinnati before the Bulls won their final three. The Bulls have most of their superstars on defense, coming with DE George Selvie, LB Ben Moffitt, and CB Mike Jenkins, but the offense is able to make some noise, too. Led by QB Matt Grothe, the Bulls scored points in bunches finishing 20th in scoring offense with 35.83 ppg.
The Oregon Ducks, also ranked #2 for a time this season, also know how to score points. Both of these were true, until QB Dennis Dixon was lost to a season ending ACL injury. If Dixon doesn't go down in the game against Arizona, he most likely wins the Heisman trophy and is playing in New Orleans next week for the National Championship. Instead the 8-1 Ducks went on to lose their final 3 without Dixon and are now here in El Paso. Oregon will now have to rely on RB Jonathan Stewart to score some points, and DE Nick Reed and company to slow down the South Florida offense.
If South Florida stops Stewart, they stop the offense. Without Dixon the Ducks couldn't do anything, scoring only 18 points a game including being shut out by UCLA. If there is no running game, the Bulls will be able to pin their ears back and come after the young quarterbacks of Oregon. For the Ducks, they need to get some turnovers and score some points on either defense or specials teams. For Oregon to win this needs to be a sloppy performance by USF, and even that might not be enough (see the UCLA game if you don't believe me). In what will be a disappointing end to a very disappointing final quarter of the season for Oregon, look for USF to win big.
Line: South Florida -6.5, Total 52.5
The Oregon Ducks, also ranked #2 for a time this season, also know how to score points. Both of these were true, until QB Dennis Dixon was lost to a season ending ACL injury. If Dixon doesn't go down in the game against Arizona, he most likely wins the Heisman trophy and is playing in New Orleans next week for the National Championship. Instead the 8-1 Ducks went on to lose their final 3 without Dixon and are now here in El Paso. Oregon will now have to rely on RB Jonathan Stewart to score some points, and DE Nick Reed and company to slow down the South Florida offense.
If South Florida stops Stewart, they stop the offense. Without Dixon the Ducks couldn't do anything, scoring only 18 points a game including being shut out by UCLA. If there is no running game, the Bulls will be able to pin their ears back and come after the young quarterbacks of Oregon. For the Ducks, they need to get some turnovers and score some points on either defense or specials teams. For Oregon to win this needs to be a sloppy performance by USF, and even that might not be enough (see the UCLA game if you don't believe me). In what will be a disappointing end to a very disappointing final quarter of the season for Oregon, look for USF to win big.
Line: South Florida -6.5, Total 52.5
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