Oregon State Arizona Betting – The Pac-10 Season Heats Up In The Desert Southwest
The Oregon State Beavers and Arizona Wildcats will test the value of home-field advantage this weekend in Tucson.
NCAA football betting: Oregon State Beavers @ Arizona Wildcats
Online Betting Odds: Arizona -7.5
Why To Bet On Oregon State
The Beavers won’t be intimidated by going on the road to Arizona. Two years ago, with their Rose Bowl hopes on the line, the Beavers and coach Mike Riley traveled to Tucson to take on a roused and highly motivated bunch of Wildcats. Oregon State trailed 17-10 late in the fourth quarter and had seemingly ruined its chances of winning when kicker Justin Kahut missed an extra point near the four-minute mark of regulation time. However, OSU was able to get the ball back and, thanks to a clutch downfield completion from quarterback Sean Canfield to receiver Sammie Stroughter, was able to setup Kahut for a game-winning field goal on the last play of the fourth quarter. Kahut banged the kick through the uprights and gave the Beavers an exhilarating 19-17 win. This 2010 edition of the Beavers actually has a quarterback – Ryan Katz – who can stretch the field even more than Canfield ever could. Add in the presence of stud running back Jacquizz Rodgers, and you have a team that can win with either the run or the pass. Arizona’s defense has been sensational so far this season, but it’s fair to say that the U of A will get its stiffest test yet against Oregon State’s balanced attack.
Why To Bet On Arizona
After losing at home to Oregon State in 2008, the Wildcats went up to Corvallis and knocked off the Beavers in 2009. Quarterback Nick Foles played one of his better games of the season in the Pacific Northwest, completing over 70 percent of his passes for three touchdowns without a single interception. Arizona scored 23 second-half points to stop Oregon State, 37-32, and register one of the more important confidence-building victories of the up-and-down Mike Stoops era. With Arizona trying to make home-field advantage mean something in this series, the Wildcats know that as they face Oregon State yet again, the Beavers will be putting a freshman –the aforementioned Ryan Katz – into the line of fire in a Pac-10 road game. Arizona allowed only nine points to Cal in its most recent Pac-10 home game, so if the Cats can similarly hold down Oregon State’s potent attack, they’ll cruise to victory. Arizona’s co-defensive coordinators, Greg Brown and Tim Kish, will need to disguise their looks and give Katz a lot of different packages to look at. If Arizona can bait Katz into bad decisions, the Wildcats should be able to win this game big.
How The Game Will Play Out
This game will tell us how much home-field advantage really means in the Pac-10. It will also tell us a lot about the maturity and poise of Ryan Katz. The feeling here is that while Arizona’s defense has allowed just 11.3 points per game in 2010, the Wildcats have benefited from poor performances on the part of opposing quarterbacks. Katz is coached by Mike Riley, one of the very best quarterback gurus in college football. That fact will pay off for Oregon State, who will certainly cover the spread and just might win this game outright.
Oregon State Arizona Betting Pick: Oregon State
