Northwestern and Oregon kickoff on Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm ET in Eugene. This is a battle between two teams heading in complete opposite directions, with Oregon priced as a 3.5-point home favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. After opening 50.5, the total has been bet down to 47.5. Here’s my prediction and best bet for the matchup.
For easy access to quick CFB picks, join the CFB Committee Betting Group on DraftKings Sports.
Check out all of my CFB Week 9 plays in the Best Bets Cheat Sheet on DraftKings Network.
| Spread | Oregon -3.5 |
| Moneyline | Oregon -175/Northwestern +145 |
| Total | 47.5 |
| Prediction | Northwestern 20 – Oregon 17 |
| Best Bet | Oregon Team Total UNDER 25.5 |
Northwestern vs. Oregon prediction
Let’s go back to September when Oregon went to USC. Dante Moore went down, but Dylan Raiola came in and looked like he could maintain an elite offense for the Ducks, who scored 41 points in the win. Oregon came out of the bye with hopes of saving its season, despite the loss to Oklahoma State.
It’s been a disaster ever since. The Ducks scored 15 points in a home loss to UCLA, 17 points in a comeback win over Nebraska and 10 points in a road loss at Illinois to put the nail in the coffin on their season. Oregon had nine points with less than a minute to go against Nebraska, but got the game winning touchdown.
The Ducks are averaging 14 points per game since the bye, with a pair of losses as about a double digit favorite. If they hadn’t gotten the late touchdown against Nebraska, they’d be looking at 0-3 in October, and averaging 11.3 PPG. That resulted in the offensive coordinator getting fired, and we also got word Moore has been ruled out for the season. Fixing this offense is going to be a project.
Enter a physical Northwestern team that’s playing fantastic football, and will look to run the ball. Outside of giving up 29 points at Indiana, the Wildcats have held their opponent to 21 points or less in their six other games. Northwestern has allowed 16.8 PPG to Power 4 competition, and that number dips to 13.7 if we toss out the game against the Hoosiers.
I’m going to make Oregon prove it to me on the scoreboard in this one.
Northwestern vs. Oregon best bet
CFB Best Bet: Oregon Team Total UNDER 25.5 (-110)
For easy access to quick CFB picks, join the CFB Committee Betting Group on DraftKings Sports.
