Oregon St poses an opportunity for more big passing numbers by WSU

Despite coming off a 45-38 OT win over Oregon last week, WSU is favored by just 8 against Oregon State. (AP)

After a wild and unexpected win at Oregon last week, Washington State plays Oregon State at Martin Stadium on Saturday. The 710 ESPN Seattle broadcast starts at 11 a.m. with the Cougar Road Show followed by the pre-game show at noon and kickoff at 1 p.m.

The Cougars are favored by 8 points and I’m trying to figure out why the line is that low. As already mentioned but worth mentioning again, the Cougs are coming off a 45-38 double-overtime win in Eugene, and the Beavers are limping into Pullman after a 44-7 loss at Arizona.

Oregon State allowed 644 yards last week, and when you look at the passing numbers from Luke Falk, it should be another big day for the Cougar offense.

We’ve seen the crazy passing stats before, but the difference with this team is its running game and defense, both of which have been non-factors for quite some time. But that has changed this season. Gerard Wicks, Keith Harrington and Jamal Morrow have become bona fide threats on the ground, and the defense has recorded 14 sacks, five fumble recoveries and four interceptions.

As we saw last week, if you’re a quarterback who can’t throw very well, you’re going to have trouble with most defenses, including the Cougs’. Oregon State’s Seth Collins is a kid who might be good someday, but he’s not now. Like the Oregon QBs, his feet appear to be a bigger issue for defenses than his arm – Collins has rushed for 362 yards and four TDs.

How will the Cougars respond to their big win last week? I would think it’s a momentum-changer to their season. All the arrows point in their direction – if they can beat Oregon on the road, surely they should be able to beat a much weaker Oregon State team at home.

According to Sports Chat Place, Oregon State is 0-4 against the spread in its last four Pac-12 games, but Washington State is 0-6 against the spread in its last six home games. One trend will continue this week.

Again, the line looks too low to me. Hopefully I’m over-thinking how this game shapes up. In my mind, the Cougars should win by 20 points. But those guys in Vegas are sharper than I am – if they think it’s going to be in the neighborhood of an eight-point game, I’m going to listen and take the Cougs to win and the Beavers cover the spread.

Line: WSU by 8.
Prediction: Cougars 34, Beavers 27
Season record against the spread:3-2

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.