NCAAF Analysis: Head coach Mike Leach and the Washington State Cougars had high hopes of building on last year’s bowl bid season but now find themselves having to dig out from a 0-2 start. For the Oregon Ducks its National Championship or bust as their win over Michigan State two weeks ago gave them a considerable credibility boost.
The Washington State Cougars will host the Oregon Ducks at Martin Stadium on Saturday night with coverage on ESPN starting at 10:30 PM ET. Oregon opened as a 23.5 point favorite. Check BetDSI for the latest NCAAF odds.
Pirate Attempts to save Cougars Ship
Washington State is coming off a 59-21 home win over 1-AA Portland State for its first win of the season as the Cougars are now 1-2 both straight up and against the spread with a 2-1 mark over the total. As was the case last year Wazzu is a team of extremes as they rank number one in the nation for passing offense but 89th for points allowed. Leach and the Cougs have little margin for error after blowing their first two games of the season.
Oregon and Mariota Just Ducky
Oregon is 3-0 straight up but 1-2 against the spread with a 2-1 mark over the total. Oregon is coming off a 48-14 home win over Wyoming but never came close to covering the 42-point spread as coach Mark Helfrich tends to ease up on the gas and not run the score up on out-manned opponents. Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota has a 203.0 QB rating with an 8-to-0 TD/INT ratio while averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
Matchup and Pick
Oregon has been an outstanding board value on the road with 11 payouts in their last 14 away games as seven out of their last 11 road games have gone over the total. Washington State has struggled to maintain board value at home with just six payouts in their last 14 home games as 16 out of their last 19 home games have gone over the total. Washington State has covered the spread in their last four meetings with Oregon as nine out of the last 11 meetings between Oregon and Washington State have gone over the total. The public will be all over Oregon and that leaves the backdoor wide open for Washington State and their top ranked passing attack. We’ll call for Washington State to cover and the game to go over the total.
