From: CBS42.com -

The Buckeyes clinched a spot in the Rose Bowl with their thrilling 27-24 overtime home win over Iowa, but their postseason opponent is still a mystery.

Oregon holds the slight edge with a 6-1 Pac-10 record - 6-1 ATS as well. The Ducks’ lone loss came in a letdown spot vs. Stanford just one week after dismantling USC.

However, a Rose Bowl berth is not a guarantee since both remaining league games are difficult contests - on the road at Arizona and then the “Civil War” game vs. Oregon State.

Stanford moved into second place in conference play at 6-2 after annihilating USC by 34 points at the Coliseum. Jim Harbaugh’s club came into the contest as an 11-point underdog.

The Cardinal never trailed in the 55-21 win as it sent USC to its most lopsided loss in 43 years. It was also the most points the Trojans had allowed in a single game in team history. USC is now 1-8 ATS in its last nine games.

Stanford has just one conference matchup left on the schedule - “The Big Game” vs. California. The Golden Bears have won six of the last seven meetings (4-2-1 ATS) so a Stanford victory is far from a certainty. And even if the Cardinal walks off with the straight-up win, an ATS victory is not a given since Cal has covered three of the last four meetings in this series when getting points.

Oregon State is next at 5-2 but the Beavers end the season with a pair of road games. This week’s contest vs. Washington State should be their 17th SU win in their last 20 games from November 1 into the postseason, but looming large in a few weeks is a date with the Ducks.

The Beavers are 13-6 ATS in those previous 19 matchups but one of the SU and ATS losses came at home to Oregon last season, a game the Ducks won 65-38 as three-point underdogs.

Sitting in fourth place at 4-2 is the team that holds the key to the Rose Bowl race.

Arizona has already beaten Stanford and Oregon State, and a victory over Oregon this Saturday would put the Wildcats in the driver’s seat. Even if the Wildcats defeat the Ducks, their final two games are both away from home, where they are 1-3 both SU and ATS in ‘09. Moreover, Arizona is 3-6 SU and 2-7 ATS in its last nine road games the last two years.

California got the best of the Wildcats last week to move to 4-3, the same Pac-10 record as USC, but these two teams are out of the race and can only act as spoilers the rest of the way.

The Golden Bears could put a major dent in Stanford’s dream season with a victory on Saturday, while the Trojans will have to wait a few weeks before facing Arizona in a game that might have Rose Bowl implications if everything falls the…..

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