The Washington State Cougars take on the Oregon State Beavers this week in a game that will feature the Pac-12’s second-leading passer, Luke Falk (1,964 yards, 15 TDs). Washington State (3-2) comes into this game looking to continue its recent success. The Cougars have won three of its last four. The game starts at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct 17 and will be available on PACN.
In last week’s matchup, Washington State defeated Oregon 45-38. Luke Falk had a great game through the air in the victory, connecting on 50 of 74 pass attempts for 505 yards and five TDs. Gabe Marks had a great game as well, adding 111 receiving yards and two TDs on eight catches. Oregon State is hoping for a different outcome after had an ugly loss against Arizona 44-7. Storm Barrs-Woods had a solid performance running the ball for the Beavers, rushing nine times for 60 yards.
Washington State is an eight-point favorite against the Beavers.
With a 3-2 record both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS), the Cougars will look to improve as they head into Week 7. When the Cougars pass the ball, they do so at a high percentage. They complete passes 70.4% of the time they throw, fifth in the nation. Crossing over to the defensive side of the ball, the Cougars look to have a distinct advantage in certain spots. The Cougars have a passing defense in the top half of the country (in terms of yards per pass allowed), but can move up in the ranks when they face off against Oregon State. The Beavers average just 10.6 yards per pass, ranking them 114th in the country. If the Beavers want to win this game, they will have to keep Washington State from taking the ball away. The Cougars have the 17th-most fumbles recovered per game in the nation with one. The Cougars hope to continue the trend of torching Oregon State’s defense during the second quarter, when they allow 11.2 points per game. Penalties aren’t likely to cost Washington State this week’s game. They earn the 22nd-fewest penalties among Division I teams, averaging only 4.8 per game.
As for their opponent, the Beavers head into Week 7 with records of 1-4 ATS and 2-3 SU. The Beavers’ secondary will be looking to pad their stats when they face off against the Cougars, who rank 120th in terms of yards per passing attempt, with an average of only 10.1 yards.
Predictions: SU Winner – Washington State, ATS Winner – Washington State
Notes
Washington State is 4-7-1 ATS in its last 12 games.
Washington State is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington State’s last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington State’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Washington State’s last 18 games at home.
Washington State is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home.
Washington State is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
Washington State is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 games when playing Oregon State.
Washington State is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Oregon State.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Washington State’s last 13 games when playing Oregon State.
Washington State is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Oregon State.
Oregon State is 1-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Washington State is 2-2 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Remarkably, Washington State is winless (0-2 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (2-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
The Oregon State offensive running attack is ranked 54th in the nation this year, compared to the 106th-ranked rush defense of Washington State.
