Breaking Down the Betting Lines for Oregon's Bout with Washington
There is a lot on the line when No. 12 Oregon travels to Washington this weekend to take on the No. 25 Huskies in Seattle, and rainy weather mixed with a hostile environment will likely culminate in one of the toughest places that the Ducks have had to play yet this season. Oregon is a slight favorite on paper, but any football fan knows that when you pit two teams with nothing but hate in their heart against each other, you can throw that game preview out the window — anything is liable to happen.
After the Ducks upset the top-10 ranked Huskies a year ago in OT, ending Washington's bid for a College Football Playoff birth, the team in purple will be trying to do the same thing this year around, as they host Justin Herbert for the first time in his career. It's going to be loud, it's liable to get nasty, and no matter the outcome, it will be entertaining down to the final whistle.
So are you looking to put some money on the contest? Let us help you decide where you can get the most bang for your buck.
Ducks vs. Huskies Betting Trends
- This storied rivalry has seen a power-shift back to neutral in recent years, with Washington winning two of the last three meetings. Prior to 2016, the Ducks held a 12-year winning streak in the rivalry.
- Oregon has covered the spread in seven of the last 10 games against Washington while averaging over 35 points per game.
- The Huskies are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games, but the UNDER has hit in 13 of their last 20 games.
- Oregon is 5-0 ATS in their last five games and the total has gone UNDER in eight of their last nine games.
- The total has gone UNDER in four of the last six games between Oregon and Washington.
Ducks vs. Huskies Key Injuries
For Oregon, a crushing blow was dealt earlier this week when it was announced that TE Jacob Breeland would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, and DE Gus Cumberlander was ruled out for the year just a week before that. Luckily, the Ducks are stacked in both the receiving game and on the defensive front, so the injuries will likely hurt the team less than they could have. LB Troy Dye and S Jevon Holland were also taken out of last week's game due to injury, but all signs point towards them being set to play on Saturday.
For Washington, WR Ty Jones is out indefinitely with a wrist injury, while OL Nick Harris and RB Richard Newton are questionable to play against the Ducks.
Ducks vs. Huskies Predictions
Score: Oregon 24, Washington 21
Moneyline
I expect this to be a dog fight until the end, as it was last year, but I think that the Ducks will come out on top when all is said and done. Oregon (-130) won't get you as much return on your bet as Washington would, but the Ducks are the better team and with veteran leadership on both offense and defense, they will likely prevail. With -130 odds, a $10 bet on Oregon will net you $7.69 of profit if the Ducks were to win.
Against the Spread
Although I think that the Ducks will likely win this game, I think it will end up coming down to the wire, so I'm going to put my money on Washington (+3) at home. Chances are that this game will be decided by a field goal, and there's even a possibility that the Huskies take this game outright. I don't feel good about backing UW, and I'm likely to stay away from this spread, opting to take the Oregon moneyline and the total instead.
Over/Under
A lot of prediction sites that I've seen have this as a high-scoring game that crushes the total points of 48.5, but I simply don't see it. Oregon has a top-ranked defense that is highly capable of keeping Washington and QB Jacob Eason quiet throughout the day, and the rain and wind will likely keep both offenses confined to the ground game, where they will eat up clock and do what they can just to win. The UNDER (48.5) is easily the best bet on the board here, as these two teams have historically played low-scoring and tight games.
