Urge to post just made me come on the RX again. Fade or follow- don't care.
Stanford -13. Going contrarian here since the majority of the $ is on OSU. After all, Stanford coming off a huge USC win, playing on a short week, and Hogan's ankle is not 100%. But, there's more here than all that.
Oregon State opened at +17 because I think the oddsmakers know how bad the Beavers are. They didn't put Weber St. away until the 4th quarter- yes Weber, a doormat of the Big Sky. Then they played about 1 decent quarter vs. Michigan before totally getting dominated in the 2nd half (almost no offense). Last week they were struggling with San Jose in the 2nd qtr. when SJ's QB hurt his ankle. The replacement, Joel Gray, was much less mobile and a turnover machine. You could tell the SJ coaches didn't trust Gray and their game plan got way too conservative. OSU took advantage of it with a 21 point flurry in the 3rd qtr.
The Beavers have not recruited well for many years (those damn Ducks!) and it has showed the last 2-3 seasons. Usually, though, they have one or two quality aspects of their game- last 2 years they could pass well (2 years ago Brandin Cooks was a 1 man offense). Or in earlier years they could play tough D. This year I don't see one outstanding part of their game. QB Seth Collins, a true frosh, is very much developing and other than taking off to run, doesn't look ready to play in the PAC 12. My play here is that the Stanford backup QB, Chryst, will play well if needed, and that the Beavers will play at least one half like total crap. They're young and not that talented. Stanford doesn't play this game in a rain storm, typical in the NW, and will enjoy the national TV exposure.
Stanford -13. Going contrarian here since the majority of the $ is on OSU. After all, Stanford coming off a huge USC win, playing on a short week, and Hogan's ankle is not 100%. But, there's more here than all that.
Oregon State opened at +17 because I think the oddsmakers know how bad the Beavers are. They didn't put Weber St. away until the 4th quarter- yes Weber, a doormat of the Big Sky. Then they played about 1 decent quarter vs. Michigan before totally getting dominated in the 2nd half (almost no offense). Last week they were struggling with San Jose in the 2nd qtr. when SJ's QB hurt his ankle. The replacement, Joel Gray, was much less mobile and a turnover machine. You could tell the SJ coaches didn't trust Gray and their game plan got way too conservative. OSU took advantage of it with a 21 point flurry in the 3rd qtr.
The Beavers have not recruited well for many years (those damn Ducks!) and it has showed the last 2-3 seasons. Usually, though, they have one or two quality aspects of their game- last 2 years they could pass well (2 years ago Brandin Cooks was a 1 man offense). Or in earlier years they could play tough D. This year I don't see one outstanding part of their game. QB Seth Collins, a true frosh, is very much developing and other than taking off to run, doesn't look ready to play in the PAC 12. My play here is that the Stanford backup QB, Chryst, will play well if needed, and that the Beavers will play at least one half like total crap. They're young and not that talented. Stanford doesn't play this game in a rain storm, typical in the NW, and will enjoy the national TV exposure.
