Deposit Instantly Using Your Credit Card at Sportsbook.com!

Sun Bowl: Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh Football Picks

Written December 30, 2008 by Jason Lowry

Pittsburgh Oregon State Football

This Wednesday two teams that just missed playing in a BCS bowl game will instead do battle in El Paso at the Sun Bowl, as the No.24 Oregon State Beavers take on the No.18 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. The Beavers had a rough start to the season going just 2-3 to start the season, but thanks to an upset win over USC at home all they had to do was beat instate rival Oregon in the final game of the regular season to play in the Rose Bowl, but they instead pushed their record to 8-4 with a 38-65 loss. The Panthers had high hopes for the 2008 season, and had they been able to beat Cincinnati at the end of the season, they likely would be playing in the Orange Bowl, but there is nothing for this team to be upset about as they finished 9-3 and have a shot at a double digit win season. For those of you looking to bet on NCAA football this week, the oddsmakers have Oregon State 2.5 point favorites over Pittsburgh at Bookmaker.com.

The Beavers got it done on the offensive side of things with the Pac 10 leading rusher an Offensive Player of the Year in freshman Jacquizz Rodgers who had 1,263 yards and 11 touchdowns, but was unable to play in the Beavers game against Oregon in the season finale. The passing attack is led by the arm of Lyle Moevao who while completing 60.5% of his passes threw for 2,341 yards and 19 touchdowns. The receiving game will not be at full strength for this one, as they will be without James Rodgers, but still have No.1 target Sammie Stroughter who had a team best 952 yards with 7 scores, and also have Shane Morales who had a team high 8 touchdown catches. Look for the Beavers to get the running game going early and often in this one.

The Beavers defense might surprise some people when they watch the game this week, as this unit is pretty solid both up front and in the secondary, as they give up just 134.8 yards on the ground and only 188.6 in the air. The team hasn’t forced a ton of turnovers with just 20 on the season, but this team really knows how to get at the quarterback, as Slad Norris and Victor Butler have combined for 17 of the teams 34 sacks this season. The only concern we have with this unit is they aren’t coming into this one off a very strong performance, as they not only let Oregon score 65 in the season finale, they gave up 694 yards of total offense, including 385 yards on the ground. The coaches have not only had plenty of time to fix the problems and prepare for the Panthers, and we expect the Beavers to do just that. Bet Oregon State Beavers -2.5 at Bookmaker.com.

The Panthers also have a big time running back to bolster their offense, as LeSean McCoy had another outstanding year running the football, as he run for 1,403 yards and a very impressive 21 touchdowns. Not only is McCoy a threat on the ground but he can also be used as a passing threat, as McCoy was 2nd on the team with 31 catches. Bill Stull leads the passing attack with 2,304 yards on the season, but has just 9 touchdown passes to 9 interceptions, and that really makes it hard for this team to move the football when McCoy can’t get it going. We expect the running game to be just fine in this one, but if it struggles so does Pitt.

The Panthers defense can play some good football, and that is something they will need to do in this game, as they have to find a way to stop the rushing attack of Rodgers and the Beavers. The Panthers come in only allowing 320 yards a game, and only 128 on the ground. The defense has created 21 turnovers and have found their way to the quarterback 28 times this season. A big reason that this team is so strong is they have the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in Scott McKillop on their side. McKillop not only led the team with 126 tackles, but 16.5 of those came for a loss and he had 4 sacks as well. The Panthers also have solid pass rusher Greg Romeus with 5.5 sacks and also had 13.5 tackles for loss. Bet Pittsburgh Panthers +2.5 at Bookmaker.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Pittsburgh +2.5
I am not sold at all on the Oregon State Beavers, and the rest of the Pac 10 besides USC. I think Pitt will be able to run it all over the Beavers and their defense will do a good enough job to get them the win. I still think this one will be close, but I think Pitt takes control late.

Predicted Score: Pittsburgh 24 Oregon State 20

Get the latest NCAA football odds and grab the best college football picks for all the bowl games at Betfirms.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

No comments yet, but your thoughts are welcome!