Washington State vs. Oregon Spread Pick
The Oregon Ducks are coming off an impressive win over Washington last week but another difficult challenge waits ahead tonight. Can the Ducks pull off another small upset when they take on the Washington State Cougars in Pullman?
Game Snapshot
367 Oregon Ducks at 368 Washington State Cougars
7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 20, 2018
Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Cougars are 3-point favorites to beat the Ducks. The total, meanwhile, sits at 68.5 points. As of this writing, 58% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Ducks.
Oregon Ducks
Oregon senior RB Tony Brooks-James (ankle) is expected to join the offense again soon. Brooks-James (5’9/190) hasn’t played on offense since he picked up an ankle injury against Stanford, but he did return kicks against Washington, and looked healthy doing it. This appears to be CJ Verdell’s backfield with Travis Dye as the backup, but the speedy tailback should be a nice change-of-pace weapon for the last playoff contender in the Pac-12.
Washington State Cougars
Washington State senior QB Gardner Minshew completed 30-of-40 passes for 430 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday’s 56-37 win at Oregon State. Minshew threw for 2,140 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2017 as the starter for East Carolina in four starts and parts of 10 games. The graduate transfer is already up to 2,422 yards with 19 TDs and just four INTs in six starts while also posting two rushing scores. He has thrown for at least 319 yards in all six of his starts this season. He’ll look to keep it going in two weeks against Oregon.
Betting Trends
Oregon
The Ducks are 0-8 against the spread in their last eight games versus the Cougars and 0-4 against the number in their last four trips to Pullman.
Washington State
The Cougars are 6-0 against the spread in their last six games overall and 4-0 in their last four games coming off a win.
Prediction
The Ducks have really struggled in this matchup and could struggle again tonight. ESPN Game Day traveled to Pullman this week and their fans were loud at 5:00 a.m. in the morning. This is going to be a raucous environment for the Ducks, who are already coming off an emotional win last week. The Cougars have the top-ranked passing game in the nation and are ninth in pass defense this season. Washington State is also 14th in the country in total defense, surrendering just 311.2 yards per game. I’m siding with the home team here.
College Football Prediction: Washington State Cougars -3