The Oregon State Beavers and the Arizona Wildcats meet Saturday in college football action from Arizona Stadium. Oregon State is 6-1 overall this year and coming off a bye week. The Beavers last appeared in a win over UCLA. As for Arizona, they were idle last weekend as well. The Wildcats improved to 4-3 on the season following a blowout win over Washington State in their last game. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Oregon State Beavers
The Beavers got off to a hot start this year with a trio of blowout wins over San Jose State 42-17, UC Davis 55-7 and San Diego State 26-9. Oregon State took a rough upset loss to Washington State in game four 38-35, but since then the team has gotten back on track with wins over Utah 21-7, California 52-40 and UCLA 36-24.
Back on October 14 versus UCLA, Oregon State was up 23-10 at the break and scored double-digits in each of the first three quarters. QB DJ Uiagalelei finished with 266 yards and a pair of passing scores. Damien Martinez led the rush with 90 yards, and Anthony Gould caught seven balls for 87 yards to top the receivers.
Oregon State Beavers Team Facts
- Oregon State has won each of its last 12 games as a favorite against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Oregon State has covered the spread in nine of its last 10 games against conference opponents.
- Oregon State has won the first quarter in nine of its last 10 games against conference opponents.
- Oregon State has won the first half in eight of its last 10 games against conference opponents.
- Seven of Oregon State’s last eight games in October have gone OVER the total points line.
Arizona Wildcats
Over on the Arizona side, they managed a 3-1 run over their first four games this year. The Wildcats beat Northern Arizona 38-3, UTEP 31-10 and Stanford 21-20 with a lone OT loss to Mississippi State 31-24 in that time. After losses to Washington 31-24 and USC 43-41, the Wildcats took out Washington State 44-6 in their most recent outing.
In the Washington State game, Arizona scored double-digits in every quarter on the way to the dominant finish. Noah Fifita threw for 342 yards on 34-of-43 passing, but the running game provided most of the production. Rayshon Luke (71 yards; TD), Jonah Coleman (70 yards; three TDs) and DJ Williams (37 yards; TD) carried the scoring in the victory.
Arizona Wildcats Team Facts
- The favorite has won each of Arizona’s last eight games at Arizona Stadium.
- Arizona has covered the spread in seven of its last eight games in October.
- Arizona has lost the first half in each of its last five home games against conference opponents.
- Six of Arizona’s last seven games as an underdog have gone UNDER the total points line.
Matchup/League Facts
- Arizona rank T40th among FBS teams for points allowed per game this season (20.6).
- Oregon State are one of only six FBS teams undefeated in home games this season ([z-0]).
- Oregon State rank 12th among FBS teams for points per game this season (38.1).
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stay with Arizona. The Wildcats have been highly competitive in every game so far this year despite taking on some top-tier squads. Arizona dropped 516 yards (342 passing) on the road against a pretty good Washington State team in their last outing and did an even better job on defense. The Wildcats posted three takeaways and held the Cougars to just 234 yards (199 passing), 12 first downs and 4-of-11 on third-down tries. None of Arizona’s losses have come by more than seven points, so they’ve got the goods to keep pace in this one.
As for Oregon State, they seem to have shaken off their lone loss and are playing well over the last few games. There’s plenty to clean up, though: the Beavers gave up 450 yards (284 rushing) and 27 first downs while committing 11 penalties in the win over UCLA. That game shouldn’t have been as close as it was. All things considered, I like Arizona to stay reasonably close in a great game to watch here.
