BCS Bowl Odds: Ohio State Vs. Oregon Rose Bowl Spread Picks

It’s the Rose Bowl, the Granddaddy of BCS bowl odds. Here is the official betting preview. OffshoreInsiders.com sportswriter Shea Matthews starts us off. 

Handicapping notes: USC is not in a BCS bowl? Ohio State is not even sniffing the national title discussion? Things sure have changed over the last couple of seasons. Though the Buckeyes can be reasonably happy to reach the Rose Bowl, 2009 doesn’t necessarily qualify as a success for Jim Tressel’s boys. Ohio State played championship-caliber defense this year, ranking fifth in the nation in (fewest) yards allowed. Cameron Heyward and Thaddeus Gibson highlight a front seven that many sports betting pundits feel is Ohio State’s best in a long time.

However, the Buckeyes’ sub-par offense held them back time and again this season. There’s still time for Terrelle Pryor to pull it all together but the sophomore pivot arguably regressed this season. He ran for 700 yards – his feet are just fine – but passing was another story. He threw 10 picks after throwing just four as a freshman.

The Oregon Ducks, on the other hand, are scoring machines. They ranked seventh in the country with 37.7 points per game this season. These guys run wild with the football. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is among the nation’s most dynamic offensive players. He ran for 12 touchdowns and threw for 15 more this season. He has a great complementary player in running back LaMichael James, who ran for 1,476 yards and scored 14 times. James topped 150 rushing yards in six different games and was the driving force behind Oregon’s No. 6 rushing offense.

Oregon leaves plenty to be desired on defense but the Buckeyes’ offense doesn’t scare anyone. It doesn’t take a genius to know that the Rose Bowl therefore comes down to whether or not the Buckeyes’ “D” can hold. I don’t think it can. Oregon ran wild on some solid defenses this year; it churned out a whopping 391 yards in its huge statement victory over USC. Ohio State won’t make it easy but the Buckeyes won’t score enough to keep pace with the high-octane Ducks

Against the spread records: The Buckeyes are 7-1 against teams with a winning record, 10-2 off straight up win, and 22-5 on grass. The Ducks are 7-3 their last 10 bowl games.

For more information: The BCS bowl picks used by professional gamblers are on the OffshoreInsiders.com Network.