No. 21 Oregon State Beavers +3 (7-3) 7-3 ATS, 6-4 O/U at Arizona Wildcats -3 (6-4) 6-4 ATS, 6-4 O/U Saturday, November 22 Arizona Stadium (57,400) Tucson, Arizona9:00 p.m. EST
By Wilson of Predictem.com
Tucson, Arizona is usually a great place to visit, especially during the late fall and early winter as most people crave its warmth, palm trees, and great golf courses. Oh yeah, there is also a good chance to catch a Pac-10 football game too. Oregon State has the chance to make it to the Rose Bowl on New Years Day if they simply win the rest of their games. The Wildcats can play the role of spoiler this weekend as the Beavers make the trip into the desert with pictures of Pasadena not far from their current field of vision.
The Wildcats lost last week to the Oregon Ducks 55-45 in a high scoring game that saw a ton of pass yardage on both sides. Both teams passed for a total of over 600 yards between them which kept the fans on the edge of their seats.
Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama threw for 328 yards and 2 touchdowns on 29-of-45 passing. He also had 2 interceptions as well. Tuitama connected with Wildcat receivers, the Gronkowski brothers, 15 times. Sophomore, Rob Gronkowski had 12 receptions for 143 yards and 1 touchdown while his junior brother Chris pulled in 3 catches for 84 yards and a solo touchdown to match little bro.
The Wildcats can definitely be a scary team as they have beaten a ranked team this year in then No. 25 California Golden Bears 42-27, and they played the USC Trojans (No. 6 at the time) extremely tough in a loss 17-10. Arizona also lost a one-point game to the Stanford Cardinal 24-23. Realistically, Arizona could be 8-2 and this weekends game would be worth more to them but as it is they can still benefit by knocking the Beavers out of the Rose Bowl assuming USC also cruises through the rest of their schedule. The Wildcats give up nearly 23 a game but they score almost 40 to make up for it.
What can we say about Oregon State? They fly into the desert this weekend after defeating California last Saturday 34-21. The Beavers hit their points per game average almost exactly on the mark as they scored 34 points and were averaging 33.4 coming into the contest.
As usual the Rodgers brothers of Oregon State showed their ability to dominant a game with their playmaking. James Rodgers returned a kickoff for an 86-yard touchdown. Jacquizz Rodgers carried the ball 27 times for 144 yards and 1 touchdown. Beavers QB Lyle Moevao was 14-of-28 for 145 yards. The Beavers are playing for more than their used to at this point in the season and it seems to show in the way they have executed the last five games. This weekend they will go for their sixth straight win and take one more step toward the Grand Daddy of them all in the Rose Bowl.
This game will be a hard fought battle between two very deserving teams who have shown they can play with any team- and win. I cant get enough the Beavers dynamic brothers. I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Rodgers brothers!
Wilsons Pick: Arizona is definitely tough at home but I must jump on the wagon and take the Beavers to win on the road and cover the 3 points. Luck to ya.
