2005 Oregon Ducks Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

After dropping their first three games against the odds in 2001, the Oregon Ducks went on to cover seven of their final nine games including a Fiesta Bowl win over Colorado to finish with an 11-1 straight up record. Oregon was still riding high in 2002 as they started off 6-0 straight up and 5-1 against the odds entering a home game against Arizona State in which they were installed as 10-point chalks. On this fateful day in which the Ducks were on many lists of football picks they blew a huge lead, lost 42-45 and have never been the same since. Oregon finished out of the money in six of their final seven games of 2002 and dropped five of their first nine against the odds in 2003 before recovering some of their sports handicapping value and getting the cash in their final four consecutive games. As the Ducks entered 2004 many sports betting bloggers considered them “rehabilitated” and a Pac 10 Conference title contender as they were coming off an 8-5 straight up season which included a Sun Bowl berth. The strong finish to the Ducks’ 2003 season also caused many sports betting bloggers to believe that a positive sports handicapping market correction would continue into 2004.

Oregon was on the top of many lists of football picks for their 2004 season opener against perennial Big Ten doormat Indiana. The Ducks were installed as 20-point home chalks but that scared off few sports bettors, who ended up with their bankrolls blown apart in a shocking 24-30 Indiana upset win. This game soured a considerable portion of the sports betting bloggers who immediately wrote off the Ducks, which was a good indicator that Oregon would carry some sports handicapping value in their next few games. In fact, the Ducks were installed as 27.5-point dogs at Oklahoma in their very next game and got the cash in a 7-31 loss. This began a tremendous streak for Oregon, who proved to be an outstanding sports handicapping value that got the cash in seven of the eight games that followed the Indiana debacle. Dating back to the final four games of the 2003 season, Oregon had paid off sports bettors in eleven of thirteen games. Once again, many sports betting bloggers began touting the merits of the Ducks, who were coming off an impressive effort at California in a 27-28 loss in which they were installed as 20-point dogs by the sports betting odds makers. This set up the beginning of a sports handicapping market correction as the Ducks lost their final two games of 2004 both straight up and against the odds to finish 5-6 straight up and 7-4 against the pointspread.