Gameday Guide: WSU at Oregon State

In today's newsletter ...

• Critical Info

• Gamblin’

• Injury Impact

• Key matchups

• What I’ll be watching for

• What you can watch for: Gameday Bingo!

• Rooting guide!

With two games to go in the regular season, everything but the College Football Playoff is still on the table for WSU. Win the final two games, and the Cougars are very likely headed to the Alamo Bowl for a matchup with one of the Big 12’s top teams. Lose one or both of these … well, let’s not think too much about that, because the taste from last year is still hanging out in our mouths.

The last time the Cougars lost in disappointing fashion and had to go back on the road in the next game, they came back home with a win … albeit one that wasn’t all that convincing. I don’t think the Cougs had a hard time getting up for that one against Fresno State, but even if you think they did, that shouldn’t be a concern here against the Beavers. When Jake Dickert says the Cougars have been looking forward to playing Oregon State — our Pac-12 frenemies — I believe him.

You can bet the Beavers are feeling the same way.

Unlike the Cougars, who secured bowl eligibility weeks ago, the Beavers are hanging onto postseason eligibility by a thread. Losers of five straight after starting 4-1 (sound familiar?), they need wins in both of their final games to extend their season — that would mean beating both WSU and Boise State. That’s a tall order!

Critical Info

• Game time: 4 p.m. PT

• Location: Reser Stadium — Corvallis, Oregon

• Weather forecast at kickoff: 48 degrees and rainy, slight breeze

• How to watch: The CW

• How to listen: WSUCougars.com

• Live stats: StatBroadcast 

Gamblin’

Consensus via VegasInsider.com as of Friday evening

Trends: WSU is 6-4 ATS, while OSU is just 2-8. Combined, the teams have gone over the number half the time.

Predictive model probabilities: 69% to win, 46% to cover (at -11)

Injury Impact

WSU

The Cougars had been remarkably fortunate with injuries this season … until this week.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.