Off a huge home win against then No. 5 ranked USC, the No. 11 ranked Washington State Cougars will hit the road for Eugene where the upset minded Oregon Ducks await. This huge spot under the nationally televised lights will be Luke Falk and company’s first trek away from the comforts of Martin Stadium. They’ll enter the spot confident knowing full well they’ve taken two straight and covered each of the last seven against their Pac-12 North rivals.
Watch this regular season Week 6 matchup live on Saturday, October 7, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET from Autzen Stadium. This game will be broadcast live on FOX.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Washington State -1
Oregon +1
O/U 67.5
Odds Analysis
It’s been all one way traffic on Wazzu since the line for this crucial divisional tilt first opened early Sunday evening. The Cougars originally opened as 1-point road chalk but have since been bet up to -2 with nearly 76 percent of the betting handle riding the visitors. The Ducks hadn’t been dogged at home since 2009 up until last season when they failed to cover both spots and got buried in each by Stanford and Washington. A recent trend looks to be developing here, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see more steam push this line even higher.
Total bettors have made their belief of how this game plays out loud and clear with the 67.5-point opener down all the way to 61 with only 51.7 percent of the handle on the under. Big money moved the line down early, but look for the number to jump back up a bit with Oregon playing to easy overs the two times they closed as home dogs last season.
Key Stat
8.0 – The Mad Scientist’s offense is extremely one-dimensional. Falk navigates the No. 2 ranked passing offense, but gets very little help from a ground game that averages just 81.8 yards per game ( No. 125 ). With that, it’s successfully converted an average of 8.0 third downs per game. Oregon just held Arizona State to a 4-of-18 showing on third down last week to secure the 45-24 win and cover as 17-point favorites. The defense ranks No. 28 in allowing third down conversions ( 4.5 ). Whichever of these units wins this battle of strengths will have the upper hand at winning the game.
Letdown Spot
The Cougars enter this tilt off one of the biggest wins in program history. In doing so, they moved up to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 and have gotten to hear how awesome they are all week. More interviews have been given. More accolades in classrooms have been given. The Cougars are getting rock star treatment. It’s tough to get back on the playing field and not let all the extra pub get to your head. This is a huge litmus test for a team that now has a player up for Heisman Trophy consideration and is on the verge of becoming widely accepted as a bonafide National Championship contender. The bright lights of the big stage could also have an effect.
Free ATS Pick
Lost in the jubilation of winning the team’s conference home opener, Oregon will be down its starting quarterback in Justin Herbert after he broke his collar bone against the Golden Bears. The offense could also be without the services of Royce Freeman who suffered a hamstring injury. Those are two dynamic weapons that Oregon sorely needed to have a shot at defending its turf against the upstart Cougars. Willie Taggart will no doubt have his kids ready to play, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but in the end, it won’t be enough to halt the runaway train building steam otherwise known as the Air Raid.
College Football Odds: Cougars 38, Ducks 22
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