LA Bowl Staff Predictions: Utah State vs Oregon State

With the Oregon State football team (7-5) set to face Utah State (10-3) in the LA Bowl at Sofi Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Publisher Brenden Slaughter and Recruiting Analyst Jared Halus give their two cents on the matchup and who's going to come out on top.

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BRENDEN SLAUGHTER'S PICK

It's going to be a dandy of a contest at Sofi Stadium on Saturday...

Oregon State and Utah State are two evenly matched teams and I expect we're going to get a terrific battle between two squads who are going to leave it all on the field to come out on top.

For Jonathan Smith and Co. to come away victorious, the Beavers need to be the team that dictates tempo.

Utah State's offense can score points in a hurry and the best counter to that is for the Beavers to have a strong running game that allows them to control the clock and keep USU's offense on the sidelines.

Additionally, Chance Nolan needs to have one of his better games of the year. With the Aggies knowing OSU's bread and butter is the run game, the opportunity to hit some big passes downfield will be there and Nolan has to deliver.

OSU's defense will need to make plays in this one, but I expect the group to be extremely fired up with the news that Trent Bray is going to be the permanent DC. Outside of the Oregon game, the defense has been superior with Bray at the helm and I expect him to have a really good game plan ready for his defense.

With all that being said, I'm confident Oregon State is going to come away victorious. Utah State is a solid opponent, but the Beavs have played good teams all season long and I expect they'll be more than ready and fired up to earn their first bowl win since 2013.

I like the Beavers by a field goal...

PREDICTION: Oregon State 34, Utah State 31

Brenden's season record (7-5)

JARED HALUS' PICK

The Beavs should be in for a brawl against Utah State.

The Aggies are a hard-nosed team that plays good football. Their offense is really, really good, especially in the passing game, and their defense is good enough to get the job done against most opponents.

Oregon State is going to need to score points often to win this one. I do expect the defense to play well in their first official game under coach Bray, but the offense is where I am looking to make a difference.

Get Chance Nolan rolling, get BJ Baylor rolling, protect the football, and score as many points as necessary to stay on top of a high-powered opponent.

Do that, and Beavs win.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 39, Utah State 34

Jared's season record (6-6)

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