BeaversEdge Staff Predictions: Washington State vs Oregon State

With the Beavers (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) set to host Washington State (4-2, 1-2) on Saturday, BeaversEdge Publisher Brenden Slaughter, recruiting analyst Dylan Callaghan-Croley, and writer T.J. Mathewson give their two cents on the matchup and who's going to come out on top!

BRENDEN SLAUGHTER'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 42, Washington State 35

Following the miracle at Stanford, the Oregon State football team returns to the friendly confines of Reser Stadium on Saturday for a matchup with fellow 4-2 squad Washington State...

With the winner of this contest seemingly keeping their Pac-12 championship game hopes alive and the loser getting pushed into the next tier of teams, there's certainly a lot at stake for both the Beavers and the Cougars.

Working in Oregon State's favor is the fact that they play a lot better at home compared to on the road under Jonathan Smith... outside of the USC loss, which was arguably some of OSU's best play this season, particularly on defense, the Beavers haven't lost a game at Reser since 2020.

Taking that a step further, the Beavers haven't lost at Reser with fans since 2019 with the exception of that loss to the Trojans, so I anticipate the team will be more mentally sharp and locked in than we saw the past two weeks. Plus if Reser is anywhere close to the USC atmosphere, the Beavers will have a big-time 12th-man advantage...

Regardless of who starts at QB for the Beavs, I still like their chances in this contest. WSU allows the third-most receiving yards per game to opposing receivers (260.7 per game) and that should help allow Gulbranson or potentially Nolan to be able to make some plays in the passing game. Additionally, keeping Cam Ward and the WSU offense on the sideline with a clock-controlling ground game would also be a big coup for the offense...

Defensively, the Beavers have to be able to limit what Ward is able to do under center... with starting running back Nakia Watson and receiver Renard Bell out, Ward could be under a little more pressure to deliver and the Beavers must take advantage...

All in all, I expect the Beavers to win this contest... Vegas currently has the Beavs as a 3.5-point favorite, I'll go a bit further and say OSU takes this game by a touchdown in front of another sold-out Reser Stadium...

Brenden's season record (5-1)

- Brenden Slaughter

DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 31, Washington State 27

This is a tough one to pick, I went back and forth all week about how I felt about this one.

That being said, give me the Beavers to win this one in front of a sold-out crowd, think the environment will be a big part of this one. If the Beavers can hold onto the football and limit the mistakes, I like their chances to come away with a victory.

Dylan's season record (5-1)

- Dylan Callaghan-Croley

T.J. MATHEWSON'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 24, Washington State 21

I've been going back and forth on this one this whole week, but I think I've decided. If I were to guess, Ben Gulbranson is going to start this week, so we are going to operate as such.

Washington State is an aggressive defense, ranking top-15 in both sacking the quarterback and forcing negative plays(TFLs), something that could cripple an inexperienced QB. They also are very stout against the run, allowing just 110 yards/game. Smells like a tough day for the offense, which is fine! Because the Oregon State defense has been a different animal at home.

The Beaver defense has allowed just 34 total points in two true home games, and there's enough weakness in the Washington State offense for them to have another successful evening. The Cougars are banged up along their OL, missing their 3rd-leading receiver Renard Bell and their starting running back Nakia Watson. Jaylen Jenkins was really good in relief of Watson last week, but it will be curious to see how the depth behind the true freshman holds up.

At quarterback, Cameron Ward has been good, but has had problems with turnovers at times this season, in fact, the WSU offense has lost 12 turnovers this season, which is more than the Beavers have lost on their offense. That's what this game is going to come down to, and I see the Oregon State defense forcing a few key turnovers to swing the game in a good home defensive performance.

T.J.'s season record (6-0)

- T.J. Mathewson

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