Washington State vs. Oklahoma State Preview, Prediction, Pick Against the Spread

Coach Wulff will likely improve WSU in his 3rd year as coach.

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (+18.5) @ OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

I’m doing one more week 1 college football preview before shifting gears and getting into the week 1 NFL lines. This time I want to take a look at Washington State @ Oklahoma State (-18.5). I was eying this line up early when the Cowboys were 14.5 favorites and the line has moved to 18.5 which shows the public is pounding the Cougars.

Washington State is absolutely terrible! They posted a 1-11 record last year, but managed to come out 5-7 ATS. That’s because they were mostly spotted between 20-45 points every single game! They gave up an average of 38.5 PPG while scoring just 12 PPG. The Cougars D was dead last in the country giving up 512 yards per game! On the upside, Washington State can’t get any worse as they are returning 15 starters from last season and are in the 3rd year of Coach Paul Wulff’s tenure.

The question now becomes, can Oklahoma State be as good as they were the last two seasons because if they are, I’m all over the Cowboys in this one. Despite OSU’s 9-3 regular season record last year, they were just 5-6-1 ATS. They had a balanced attack last year gaining about both 180 yards rushing and passing and putting up an average of 28 PPG while allowing 21 PPG. Oklahoma State will be forced to replace QB Zac Robinson with junior QB Brandon Weeden, who happens to be 26-years-old and Weeden has a cannon for an arm.

The Cowboys are also replacing four starters on their offensive line including first-round draft pick Russull Okung. The Cowboys also have a young defense. Out of the seven players that led this team in tackles, only one will be returning. In total, Oklahoma State only has 8 starters returning, which can be a problem if you want to see them beat a matured Washington State team by 17. Fortunately for OSU, Washing State’s offense isn’t anything to be concerned about, but Oklahoma State will surely have problems this season against the top offenses in the Big 12.

It’s always funny what a little research can uncover. Most people thought OSU over WSU was a sure bet, but that may not be so. Quite the contrary! I’m not ready to venture to say that Washington State +16.5 is the absolute pick to make in this game, but Bleacher Report thinks so and I’ll have to agree. On the other hand, 6-out-of-6 experts at Covers.com say take OSU, but my impression is that they simply looked at the headline and immediately though Oklahoma State just like everyone else.

Oklahoma State has struggled to cover double digit spreads last year, I say they win by just 10-14.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 31 – Washington State 17

Pick Against the Spread: Washington State +18.5 (Confidence 1.5/5)

Notes: Rule #3 of sports betting is don’t bet on bad teams. Washing State is a bad team and could get blown out if OSU’s offense is clicking early.

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