UCLA vs. Oregon Week 8 college football odds: Bettors unusually split on Pac-12 Game of the Year
Chip Kelly returns to Oregon for a Top 10 showdown Saturday with UCLA.
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When is the last time the college football game of the week involved a Pac-12 matchup? Remember, this is a conference that hasn't had a team in the College Football Playoff since the 2016 season. The only two schools without a conference loss so far this season are No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Oregon, and they meet Saturday afternoon in Eugene with the Ducks currently 6-point favorites at Caesars Sportsbook. There's an unusual betting pattern at the book. ESPN College GameDay will be on hand.
This is clearly the best UCLA team Chip Kelly has had as he returns to Oregon, a school he turned into a national powerhouse. The Bruins are on a nine-game winning streak, which is the second-longest in the FBS behind Clemson (13). The last time UCLA won nine consecutive games was over a stretch in the 1997 and 1998 seasons, when it won a school-record 20 in a row.
Led by quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Dorian Thompson-Robinson (+2500 to win award), the Bruins are looking to beat three straight ranked opponents for the first time since 2001. They knocked off No. 15 Washington 40-32 on Sept. 30 and No. 11 Utah 42-32 on Oct. 8 before a bye. Thompson-Robinson leads the nation in completion rate at .748 and ranks fifth nationally in passing efficiency at 180.6. He has thrown for 1,510 yards with 15 touchdowns and two picks while also rushing for 231 yards and four scores.
Oregon was crushed in the season opener by Georgia but has been dominating the opposition since, with the only exception being a tight 44-41 win at Washington State on Sept. 24. The Ducks are scoring 49.8 points per game during the five-game win streak, second to only Ohio State (54.4) during that span.
The game will feature the Pac-12's top two rushing attacks in the Ducks (241.7 yards per game) and Bruins (211.5) and top two rushing defenses. Oregon has held opponents to 98.0 rushing YPG and UCLA 99.0. Oregon is one of just five teams in the nation to rank in the top 20 in both rushing offense (10th) and rushing defense (14th).
It's the first top-10 matchup at Autzen Stadium, where Oregon has won 22 straight (the third-longest streak in the nation) since 2014 and first top-10 Pac-12 matchup there since 2010 when Kelly was in his second season at Oregon.
At Caesars, this is the only game in the country Saturday where one team is getting more than 70% of the tickets on the side (UCLA at 73.7%) but not the majority of the money (Oregon 55%). The Ducks had opened as 4.5-point favorites. Oregon has won three in a row in the series, including a 34-31 showing at the Rose Bowl last year.
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