Week 6: Just Ducky

By Kyle Magin
Nike's Oregon Duck army circles the wagons in Eugene this weekend when he Dogs come to town, looking for their second straight upset win. SC continues to trot through the desert of dashed expectations, and, oddly, a win over a struggling Utah squad could give them a hand. In Palo Alto, we find out onetime heroes, the Stanford Cardinal, look to get back on top against the once-feared and now-jeered Arizona Wildcats.

Southern California -14.5 @ Utah
SC's defense is relatively stout—giving up just 17.3 points per game against some pretty strong offenses. Leonard Williams is taking care of things up front and putting pressure on opposing offenses while Dion Bailey lurks in the defensive backfield. To almost everyone's surprise, it's the Trojan O led by QB Matt Barkley letting the U of Spoiled Children down. Barkley's completing just 55 percent of his passes and the offense is miserable on third down. Utah's Star Lotulelei and co are shutting opposing offenses down on third zone and in the red zone. The Utes offense can't put up any points, though.

Washington @ Oregon -24
What's there to say? The Ducks are 24 point favorites because their defense is starting to shut people down, and their offense outscores opponents 91-19 in the first quarter. The Duck D shuts down opposing offenses in the red zone, where they only manage to score TDs 30 percent of the time and convert on third downs just 25 percent of the time. Ho-hum for the O, where Oregon rushes for 6 yards per carry and does all sorts of wild things through the air. The Huskies are Giant Killers because Keith Price and company continue to win the time of possession battle and have minimized turnovers.

Arizona @ Stanford -9
Stanford plays defense!