Washington State Football: What you need to know for OSU 10/6/18
By Ed Stein
Washington State Football continues this week as the Cougars head to Corvallis for a PAC-12 game against Oregon State. Emerald City Swagger has all you need to know.
Emerald City Swagger presents, what you need to know in order to enjoy Washington State football this week when the Cougars visit the Oregon State Beavers. Whether you are going to the stadium to see the game live, or staying at home and watching on television, we have you covered.
Who: Washington State University Cougars (4-1, 1-1) at Oregon State Beavers (1-4, 0-2)
Where: Reser Stadium – Corvallis, Oregon.
When: 6:00 p.m. PDT
TV: PAC-12 Network
Line: Washington State -17. Over/Under 64.5 (Odds Shark)
Interesting Trends: The Cougars are undefeated against the spread this year (5-0). Additionally, WSU has gone over in seven of their last eight games and in five straight road games.
Last Week
More from WSU Cougars Football
- Washington State Football: What you need to know for 2018 Alamo Bowl
- Washington State Football: 6 takeaways from 28-15 Apple Cup loss
- Washington State Football: What you need to know for UW 11/23
- Apple Cup: History leading up to the 2018 edition
- PAC-12 Football Power Rankings week of 11/21 – Emerald City Swagger
Oregon State scored 17 points in the second quarter last week at Arizona State. Unfortunately, ASU scored 21 of their own to put the Beavers in 31-17 hole at the half. It went downhill from there for Jonathan Smith’s team.
The Sun Devils ran early and often last week, torching OSU for 396 rushing yards. Eno Benjamin was virtually unstoppable for Arizona State, gaining 312 yards and scoring three touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 27 yards and a fourth TD. Oregon State couldn’t stop the pass either. ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins was 14 of 25 for 162 Yards and three scores.
One thing the Beavers have done well this year is run the ball. Against ASU, running back Jamar Jefferson had 254 yards on 31 carries and scored twice. For the year, Jefferson has 727 yards, averaging 6.9 yards-per-carry and has scored eight touchdowns. QB Conor Blount wasn’t very prolific, completing 14 of 23 passes for only 145 yards in Tempe.
Washington State had a big 28-24 win at home against Utah last week in Pullman. The Cougars were behind 24-21 and looked like they were headed for their second loss when quarterback Gardner Minshew hit Easop Winston with a nice over the should pass, which the wide receiver converted into an 89-yard touchdown. WSU had zero net yards rushing against a stout Utes defense. Minshew, however, threw for 445 yards and three touchdowns.
Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley only threw for 118 yards, but his team’s focus was on the run. Huntley and running back Zack Moss combined for 194 yards of the Utes 204 on the ground. Cougars linebacker Peyton Pelleur had a fantastic game with 13 tackles, including one-and-half for loss, and a sack.
This Week
This is the Cougs final game before their bye week. Their next contest is at home against 18th ranked Oregon on October 19. OSU has the ability to hold the ball for long periods which will keep it out of Minshew’s hands. Fortunately for Washington State, the Air Raid offense doesn’t need much time to score.
The other thing WSU has going for them is that the strength of their defense is in the front seven. They’ll need to be strong at the point of attack against a good running team. Washington State should win this game handily. Ideally, Cougars head coach Mike Leach would like to open up a big lead early, so he can start resting some of his key players.
Next. Our football predictions for October 7-8, WSU, UW, Seahawks, SNF. dark
Depending on what happens in Eugene next week, the Cougs game with Oregon on October 20 could be for first place in the PAC-12 North.