Oregon State
vs.
Colorado State
College Football
Free Pick
9/16/17
Washington State had some issues in last week’s three-overtime win against Boise State, but through it all, the Cougars are still 2-0 with a friendly Schedule before having to host USC. As for Oregon State, it’s been the opposite and that’s why Wazzu is a large -21 point home favorite at 5Dimes Sportsbook.
With how the Beavers have looked in their first three Games, that line seems a bit small. After staying tight with Colorado State, they eventually fell apart and lost 58-27 and then were handled easily by Minnesota last week 48-14. Their only win is a 35-32 result against an FCS school. On the other side of things, that FCS school was Portland State, which actually beat Washington State two years ago. And when these teams met in Corvallis last season, the Beavers went out to a 24-6 first-half lead before Wazzu woke up and won 35-31. But with how Oregon State has looked early on, it’ll be extremely hard for anyone to back them.
The Cougars have their own issues after LUke Falk didn’t finish last week’s win. He’s set to start this one, but his spot as starting quarterback is by no means locked down anymore. Then again, that’s not a huge deal in this Air Raid attack as anyone with a competent arm can have success. Wazzu can Scoreas much as anyone with a crop of speedy receivers and running backs that should have an ease finding room in this Game. And while the Beavers were close in this Game last year, Falk still threw for 415 yards and five touchdowns while the running Game had another 137 yards.
If Washington State doesn’t reach 40 points in this one after a weak Minnesota offense scored 48 points on OSU, it’d be surprising. Playing at home, the consensus thought is that the Cougars should be able to drop 50 points on this defense.
The other side is where this Game will be decided after WSU gave up 44 points to Boise State last weekend. The Cougars have improved defensively over the years, but that didn’t show up last week. Starting quarterback Jake LUton hasn’t been terrible in the first three Games, but it’s not like he’s carving up defenses. He hasn’t completed more than 58% of his passes against an FBS defense and has 4 TDs to 4 INTs in three Games. To cover, the Beavers will need some kind of running Game to keep their defense off the field as much as possible. In last year’s meeting, OSU ran for 171 yards, aided by an 89-yard touchdown run to open the Game. If Ryan Nall can’t open things with another long touchdown run, Oregon State will need a different method to finding the end zone.
If the Cougars play up to their ability, they should coast through this Game. Yet, with their defense still an unknown, there should be some hesitation before bettors put all of their money on them. Then again, if the Gophers can beat Oregon State by 34 points, then one would think WSU can win by just as many. WSU -21