Stanford-Notre Dame, USC-ASU, and Oregon Arizona Highlight Week 6 Vegas Pac 12 Predictions
Vegas Pac 12 Predictions Week 6
Arizona Wildcats at No. 2 Oregon Ducks
Line: Oregon by 23.5
Talk about disrespect. There are three undefeated teams left in the Pac 12, and two of them are playing in this game. But the Arizona Wildcats, who are getting Oregon on a Thursday night when anything can happen, are a 23.5-point underdog. How does that make sense, especially when Oregon’s most recent win was only by 7 points to Washington State?
The Wildcats are coming off of a bye week after needing a lucky Hail Mary play to beat Cal. That’s what this is all about, and why they are not getting any respect. While the offense has looked great under Rich Rodriguez, using a great trio with Any Solomon at quarterback, Nick Wilson at running back, and Cayleb Jones at receiver, the defense has gotten progressively worse. For Arizona to have any kind of chance at Oregon, that can’t be the case, and things better have been fixed during the bye week. Otherwise, Thursday will be a very long night for the Wildcats, regardless of what the offense does.
Oregon, meanwhile, was caught in a surprise tough game against Washington State, but the Cougars seem to have found their rhythm. Still, the Ducks showed that they may have some issues they need to work out on defense if they are going to continue to be the dominant team that they have looked like so far, and to beat Arizona on Saturday that defense will have to show up. The offense also has to show up, but that should be a given with the talent it has plus the lack of talent on the Wildcats. Accepting that, the defense is going to need to force Arizona into making crucial mistakes at time to keep this a comfortable win.
Prediction
It may be disrespectful, but the point spread is close to accurate. Arizona’s offense racked up points against a Cal defense that has proven to be bad, so that’s not impressive, and the defense is just awful. Going to Oregon, things will not look good. The Ducks will jump out to a big lead by the second quarter, and the defense will shut down the Arizona offense while Oregon keeps scoring. Arizona will still put up points, but the game will be a blowout in the end.
Oregon: 52 Arizona: 28