Oregon State Beavers (2-4 SU, 2-4 ATS) @ No. 5 Washington Huskies (6-0 SU, 4-2 ATS)
College Football Week 7
Date/Time: Saturday, October 22, 2016 6:30PM EST (3:30PM PST)
Where: Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA.
TV: PAC 12 Network
by Wilson, NCAA Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: OSU +34/UW -34
Over/Under Total: OFF
The Washington Huskies host the Oregon State Beavers this weekend in Seattle in a Pac 12 contest that might be a lopsided affair. Washington Head Coach, Chris Petersen, has set the bar high in his third season as the Dogs leader. Petersens team is currently the talk of the BCS mix-upeveryone is just waiting to see if the Huskies are indeed for real. Sure, the Dogs put up 70 points to Oregons 21, and they slaughtered Stanford at home on a Friday night national broadcast, so why the doubt? This may be UWs year to regain their reputation as a powerhouse in college football but they almost definitely need to win out and in the same convincing style as their previous 6 gamesbeat downs. The Stanford and Oregon wins, although nice, are not as impressive because both the Cardinal and Ducks are down this year (Stanford with a lot of key injuries and Oregon, just not very good and rebuilding). In fact, the Huskys schedule may be getting more difficult now at the midway point of the season, and OSU is likely their last so-so pancake game of the season (unless Arizona State continues to spiral too). UWs remaining road games are at Utah, California, and rival Washington State. They host USC and Arizona State after back to back road trips.
Oregon State is not exactly a pushover but the Huskies should take care of business at home. OSU almost upset No. 21 Utah but in the end they dropped to the Utes last week 19-14. If the Beavers can slow down Washingtons offensive attack they might be able hang around for a while, but they will need to play extremely well and clean up the penalties (they had 9-65 yards vs. Utah). A team cannot give up that many yards to the No. 5 team in the country and expect to be in the game. OSUs freshman RB Artavis Pierce can be an effective weapon for the Beavers if their O-line can hold off the Husky defenders and open some running lanes. If Beavers WR junior, Hunter Jarmon can get free he can also be a threat down field but he is facing arguably, the best defensive secondary in the Pac 12 so he will need to be precise when running his routes. Oregon States defense held the Utes to just 88 yards of offense in the second half but unfortunately they gave up 229 yards in the first half. If the Beavers can establish some consistency on both sides of the ball (play well entire game) they certainly could be in the hunt for an upset.
The Huskies meanwhile, well they are dominating every team they play! I hope they prove the doubters wrong and continue to roll (I really like Chris Petersen as a coach) and I believe this team has a legit chance to make it all the way. UW leads the nation in completion percentage (.727), pass efficiency (208.37), fumble recoveries (12), sacks (4 per game), turnover margin (2.17 per game), and takeaways (17) not to mention they are also third in scoring offense and seventh in scoring defense in the country. UW QB Jake Browning is No. 1 in FBS pass efficiency (204.9) and second in the nation in touchdown passes (23), he tossed 6 TDs against Oregon which broke the school record. Honestly, if the Huskies were to lose to the Beavers this weekend I would be incredibly shocked. However, the early line is UW -34. I think after the Beavers defensive effort in the second half vs. Utah last week (held them to 88 yards, 11 of those thru the air) will carry over to this week and if the line stays near where it is now, I like the Beavers to cover.
The Huskies are a good football team, but a week off, and a so-so opponent coming in for Homecoming weekend in Seattle might catch the Dogs feeling complacent enough to overlook a hungry Beaver squad.
I like the Beavers to cover this line.
Wilson’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: The Oregon State Beavers cover. Luck to ya.
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