The Oregon State Beavers and the San Jose State Spartans meet Sunday in college football action from Spartan Stadium. This will be Oregon State’s first outing of the season following a 10-3 run last year and a win in the Las Vegas Bowl. As for San Jose State, they matched up against USC last weekend. In that one the Spartans fell in a blowout. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Oregon State Beavers 

Oregon State started out a bit sketchy last year with a 3-2 record that featured losses to USC and Utah. The Beavers hit their stride afterward however, winning seven of the final eight games for a 10-3 overall record and a 6-3 Pac-12 run for a fifth-place finish in the standings. Oregon State beat Florida 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl to cap things off. 

This year, the Beavers will be tested on defense after quite a bit of turnover, but things are still looking up. On the offensive side Oregon State gets DJ Uiagalelei in from Clemson, and if he can cut down on the picks the Beavers will have one of the most talented QBs in the program’s history. He’ll have four starters back on the offensive line, a star RB in Damien Martinez and plenty of support from the program’s faithful in 2023. 

Oregon State Beavers Team Facts

The favorite has won each of Oregon State’s last 11 games.
Oregon State has covered the spread in each of its last seven games.
Oregon State has won the first half in each of its last four games against non-conference opponents.
Oregon State has won the first quarter in four of its last five games against opponents from the Mountain West Conference.
Six of Oregon State’s last eight road games in September have gone OVER the total points line.

San Jose State Spartans 

Over on the Spartans’ side, they’re coming off a 7-5 run in 2023 and a 5-3 mark in Mountain West Conference play. That effort left San Jose State in third place amid the West Division, behind Fresno State and San Diego State. The Spartans earned an invite to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where their season ended with a thud in a loss to Eastern Michigan 41-27. 

San Jose State has already seen some action on the field against USC last weekend. In that matchup, the Spartans gave up 35 second-half points in a 56-28 defeat. QB Chevan Cordeiro threw for 198 yards and three scores (all to Nick Nash). Quali Conley added 108 yards on six carries to lead the rush. 

San Jose State Spartans Team Facts

San Jose State has lost each of its last nine games against AP-ranked teams.
San Jose State has failed to cover the spread in seven of its last eight games.
San Jose State has won the first quarter in three of its last four games against non-conference opponents at CEFCU Stadium.
San Jose State has lost the first half in each of its last six games against opponents from the Pac-12 Conference.
Each of San Jose State’s last six games in September have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

San Jose State ranked 8th among FBS teams for Q4 points allowed per game last season (4.2).
San Jose State ranked T10th among FBS teams for Q4 win percentage last season (.667).
Oregon State was one of only six FBS teams to win 3+ games when trailing after Q3 last season.
Oregon State ranked T7th among FBS teams for H1 win percentage last season (.769).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m going to stick with Oregon State in this one. Sure, there are plenty of question marks on defense, but this Beavers team has the all-around talent to do some damage and pick up where they left off last year. The bad news is that Oregon State loses five of their top seven tacklers from that top Pac-12 defense, and they’ll need more of a pass rush after posting a tepid 20 sacks last season. If the offense can take care of the ball and the defense can muster a semi-comparable effort to 2022, the Beavers will do great things. A broken-in San Jose State should be able to hang around and give Oregon State a pretty solid test in relative terms though, so this should be a fun one to check out.