There Will be Points, But not THAT Many Points

Oregon vs. North Carolina, 8:30 ET

This bowl season has been pretty good to us and we've nailed two underdog winners already. I'm looking to keep this run going as we lead up to the bigger games that await us on New Years Eve and beyond. This one pits Oregon vs. North Carolina in what should be a decent matchup between two solid offensive teams.

Oregon comes into the game with a 9-3 record and a second-place finish in the Pac-12. Their season started with an absolute embarrassment against Georgia. They responded to that by winning eight straight games. Then they fell once again to a strong Washington team, which I'd probably accept more if it was a road game. Finally, they lost their last game to Oregon State. Outside of the Georgia game, they played well in their losses. There is no doubt about their explosive offense. They are capable both on the ground and in the air and average over 500 yards of total offense a game. Their defense hasn't been terrible, but they are still exploitable. North Carolina is no slouch offensively, but I think that Oregon's secondary should be prepared after this time off for whatever they throw at them.

North Carolina comes into this game after a successful 9-4 season. Their losses came at the hands of Notre Dame and then three consecutive to end their season against Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, and Clemson in the ACC Championship game. I was impressed with how they kept their offense rolling in just about every game they had this season. There were only a handful of games that it looked like they couldn't execute their game plan. The final game against Clemson was probably a bit predictable as the Clemson defense was just too good for the Tar Heels to overcome. In this one I do expect them to score on an Oregon defense that can have trouble stopping teams. I just don't think they can outscore Oregon.

The total is really high in this game. 75 points is a lot, and look, no one wants to see touchdown after touchdown more than I do. But you're talking about needing 10 touchdowns and two field goals to just barely get over the number. It is possible. But, all it takes for this to go under is one slow quarter or a couple of stalled-out drives. Lately, both teams have had more realistic scores, too. Play the under and if it goes over, at least you got to enjoy the show.

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