Saturday’s Washington State vs Oregon State game might be closer than people think. Here’s everything you need to know.
Coming off a crazy three overtime victory over Boise State, the Washington State Cougars will continue their stretch of five straight home games to open the season as they welcome in the Oregon State Beavers in both teams’ Pac-12 opener.
Before 2014, the Beavers owned the series in recent history, taking 10 out of the last 12 games against the Cougars before Washington State’s current three-game win streak. Oregon State has struggled mightily so far this season, getting blown out in the season opener 58-27 at the hands of Colorado State and its most recent game against Minnesota, 48-14.
Washington State, on the other hand, has exemplified their electric offense yet again this season, averaging 39 points per game in their two victories — even though one of them did come in three extra sessions.
Here’s how to watch Saturday’s Washington State vs Oregon State game:
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Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Pullman, Wash.
Venue: Martin Stadium
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: Pac-12 Live
Keys to Victory
It is to no surprise that the Cougars are big favorites in this one as one of the conferences best offenses goes against one of the league’s worst defenses.
In Oregon State’s two losses to Colorado State and Minnesota, the Beavers gave up an average of 53 points per game. These were against teams that have not scored the ball well this season. Minnesota mustered just 17 points against Buffalo in the opener, while Colorado State scored just three again Colorado the following week before putting up 38 against Abilene Christian this past week. Yes, Oregon State gave up 58 to Colorado State while Abilene Christian gave up just 38.
Keys to the game for each team are simple. For Washington State, utilize their passing game like they have done so well this season. Cougars quarterback Luke Falk has completed an impressive 78 percent of his passes this year on 73 attempts. The Cougars have been able to keep their defense off the field with long, efficient drives and have used the short to medium passing game to wear down the opponents’ defense as Falk has just one completion over 25 yards this year.
If Oregon State wants a chance to hang in this game, their defense is going to have to step up. The Cougars rank tied for sixth in the nation on converted third downs and 11th on percentage. They are also top 20 in the nation for third downs in general, so they are no stranger to having to make timely plays.
Oregon State could see itself in a lot of third-and-short situations on defense and it’s critical that it comes up with big stops throughout the game and prevent Falk and company from continuing drives.
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Prediction
This game smells all sorts of trouble for the Beavers and head coach Gary Andersen is going to have to perform a miracle to get this defense ready for Washington State. Once again, the offense clicks for the Cougars all while the Beavers still struggle to figure it out. Falk throws for big numbers and run away with this one, putting it out of reach in the first quarter.
Final score: Washington State 49, Oregon State 20