Rutgers
vs.
State
Week 1
College Football Pick
Rutgers travels cross country for their 2014 season opener to the state of Washington to take on Washington State at CenturyLink Field. The Game is on August 28th and while it is technically billed as a neutral site Game, if there’s a home field advantage to be had, it obviously goes to Washington State. Washington State is a -9.5 point favorite at sportsbook.ag.
The first week of college football is always a challenge to handicap. The teams have yet to show their hands, so you’re using last season as a gauge and trying to evaluate new talent. Both of these teams won 6 Games last season and both went on to lose Bowl Games. Rutgers lost to Notre Dame in a Game Notre Dame had no interest in, while Washington State went down to Colorado State in the New Mexico Bowl, 48-45.
Despite a good showing against ND to end the season, Rutgers struggled last season against good opponents, especially on defense. They were lit up several times in Conference play and despite a couple of Games where they put big time points on the board early in the year, their offense never really got off the ground.
Washington State had their own troubles but still played competitively against tougher competition. They lost by just 7 to Auburn, beat USC, Arizona and Utah and hung within 10 of in state rival Washington. Clearly, Mike Leach has the Cougars headed in the right direction while the same can’t be said for Rutgers, who figures to struggle in the Big 10 this year.
All of the edges look to be on the Washington State side here. They have the better offense, the better coach and not having to travel can only help. At -10 or less we have to back Washington State here as we simply don’t see Rutgers keeping up here. Washington State -9.5