Washington State vs Portland State 9/11/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Washington State Cougars meet the Portland State Vikings Saturday in week 2 college football action at Martin Stadium. The Portland State Vikings look for a win after losing their opener to Hawaii. The Washington State Cougars need a win after a heartbreaking loss to Utah State.

The Portland State Vikings have lost five of their last six games overall. Davis Alexander is completing 48.9 percent of his passes for 400 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Beau Kelly and Darien Chase have combined for 237 receiving yards and one touchdown while Nate Bennett has five receptions. The Portland State Vikings ground game is averaging 77 yards per contest, and Malik Walker leads the way with 58 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Portland State is allowing 49 points and 573 yards per game. Justice Pagan leads the Portland State Vikings with 10 tackles, VJ Malo has two sacks and Xavier Bell has one pass deflection.

The Washington State Cougars hope to avoid their first 0-2 start since the 2016 CFB season. Jayden de Laura is completing 54.5 percent of his passes for 155 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Calvin Jackson Jr. and Donovan Ollie have combined for 119 receiving yards and one touchdown while Max Borghi has one reception. The Washington State Cougars ground game is averaging 149 yards per contest, and Borghi leads the way with 86 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Washington State is allowing 26 points and 441 yards per game. Jahad Woods leads the Washington State Cougars with 13 tackles, Jaylen Watson has one pass deflection and Derrick Langford has one interception.

The Portland State Vikings aren’t a pushover, as they just dropped 35 points on Hawaii last week and are the same team that gave Arkansas a scare in their 2019 season opener. Portland State can be sneaky dangerous for an average FBS club. With that said, Washington State showed flashes in their season opening loss and de Laura is capable of playing much better at the quarterback position. I expect a cleaner game from the Cougars. I’ll lay the chalk with Washington State at home.