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College Football Odds - Sun Bowl
By Aaron J. MooreWagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
| Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook |
What: Sun Bowl
Who: No. 21 South Florida (9-3) vs. Oregon (8-4)
Where: Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas
When: Monday, 2 p.m.
WagerWeb.com line: South Florida -6
In a matchup of teams once ranked No. 2 in the country, South Florida of the Big East faces Oregon of the Pac-10.
The Bulls won their first six games to reach the No. 2 spot, then lost three straight to Rutgers, Connecticut and Cincinnati to fall out of national title and Big East championship contention.
However, South Florida rebounded to win its last three games of the season by an average of nearly 27 points.
The Ducks reached their pinnacle on Nov. 4 after beating Arizona State to improve to 8-1 and rise to No. 2 in both the Associated Press top 25 and BCS rankings.
But then Heisman Trophy favorite quarterback Dennis Dixon aggravated an injury to his left anterior cruciate ligament early in the second quarter in Oregon's 34-24 loss at Arizona on Nov. 15, ending his season and UO career. The Ducks haven't won since.
South Florida employs a spread offense led by junior quarterback Matt Grothe, who has completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 2,473 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and leads the Bulls in rushing with 832 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Bulls' offense, which averages 421.6 yards, is balanced. USF is averaging 228.5 yards passing and 193.1 yards on the ground with 30 rushing touchdowns.
Running back Mike Ford (637 yards, 12 touchdowns) is the second-leading rusher.
USF sophomore All-American defensive end George Selvie has 31 1/2 tackles for loss; he needs one more tackle behind the line of scrimmage for the NCAA single-season record. He also is second in the nation with 14 ½ sacks.
South Florida's run defense will be put to the test by Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart, who ranks 10th in the nation with 122.4 rushing yards per game. He ran for 100 yards eight times and had 10 rushing touchdowns. The Ducks rank eighth in the country in rushing with 243.3 yards per game.
However, Oregon scored just two passing touchdowns in its final three games -- both in the finale against Oregon State -- after getting 20 with Dixon behind center. Seven of its 10 interceptions this season have
come in those three games.
Cody Kempt, Brady Leaf and redshirt freshman Justin Roper have all seen time at quarterback since Dixon's injury. Roper is likely to start vs. USF.
