The college football season starts for dozens of teams on Thursday. Two of them are Rutgers and Washington State. How will this intersectional game develop in Martin Stadium in Pullman?
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Washington State Cougars
Thursday, August 28 – 10:05 PM ET
Odds: Washington State -7.5
Why The Scarlet Knights Can Cover The Spread
They have a new offensive coordinator with a proven track record. Ralph Friedgen was a very solid head coach at Maryland, and the Terrapins very questionably wanted no more of him despite the fact that the program was going to bowl games in most seasons. Friedgen has done so many good things in his coaching career. He was an offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech under head coach George O’Leary. He was the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers under head coach Bobby Ross when the team made its only Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXIX against the San Francisco 49ers in 1995. Friedgen is one of the better play callers in football, and Rutgers managed to get him while other better schools either didn’t ask or didn’t close a deal with him. The Scarlet Knights can really exploit Washington State’s very shaky defense with Friedgen calling the plays. Rutgers will want to start its new era in the Big Ten with a bang, and the Scarlet Knights, who struggled late last season, think that they can make a fresh new start of things this time against an opponent that is hardly an elite team.
Why The Cougars Can Cover The Spread
They’re playing at home, and they have the better quarterback in this matchup. Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova has really struggled with both his mechanics and his reading of defenses over the years. He has had problems protecting the ball and throwing the ball into clear windows. He too often makes the risky pass and the misjudged pass into traffic. He might be an improved player this year, but it’s impossible to really tell until the game starts.
If you’re going to measure these two quarterbacks by what they’ve done in the past, Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday is by far the better player. Washington State broke a long bowl drought by reaching the New Mexico Bowl last season. The Cougars outplayed Colorado State for the first 58 minutes of the game before collapsing late. Halliday led a tremendous offensive effort that blew Colorado State’s defense to smithereens. Halliday threw for a whopping 4,597 yards last season after throwing for only 1,878 yards in 2012. He came of age as a passer, and Mike Leach, a great teacher of the passing game throughout his well-traveled coaching career, gets to work with Halliday for yet another season. The situation Washington State has with its offense is so much better than what Rutgers has to work with.
Outlook
Does Rutgers have enough offense to win this game? Yes. Does Rutgers have enough defense to win this game against a better quarterback? Probably not. This will be close, but Washington State will win outright. Rutgers, however, should cover.
Picks: Rutgers +7.5
