Two undefeated teams in the Top 25 meet up on Saturday night when the #15 Oregon State Beavers (3-0) meet up with the #24 Washington State Cougars (3-0). This is the conference opener for both programs, and ironically these are the last two schools left of the Pac-12 ahead of next year’s mass exodus.
The Beavers are the higher ranked team in the week 4 Oregon State at Washington State betting matchup and they are -3 point road favorites in Pullman. OSU has looked good early in 2023, but they’ve also been at least two TD favorites in all three of their victories.
Why Oregon State Has Value at -3
Saturday’s game is obviously going to be OSU’s biggest test of the season after they’ve rolled through San Jose State (42-17), UC-Davis (55-17), and San Diego State (24-9). Those opponents aren’t necessarily elite, but they’re an underrated group that has also allowed new Beavers QB DJ Uiagelelei to build back some of his confidence after the transfer from Clemson.
Uiagelelei has been so-so for the Beavers this season, completing 61.8% of his passes with 6 TDs to 2 INTs with another 4 TDs on the ground which is some solid production through four games. The OSU QB has a vaunted weapon in the backfield in Damien Martinez who has ran for 100+ yards in all three games this year and is averaging 8.8 yards per carry.
They’ll have their biggest test of the year in the week 4 Oregon State at Washington State betting matchup, but the OSU defense has been solid in allowing just 11.0 ppg which is 10th best in the nation.
Why Washington State Has Value at +3
Home underdogs in conference play are usually a solid pick, but perhaps especially early in the year when oddsmakers don’t really know what a team has from their nonconference games. WSU also has a very good history in this series, winning 8 of the last 9 head to head matchups.
If the Pullman crowd can get rowdy on Saturday night, it wouldn’t be a huge stretch to see OSU QB Uiagelelei start to get rattled. After all, the Clemson transfer was just 14/30 last week at home against San Diego State while throwing 2 INTs. Oregon State might need to put up some points in this meeting because the Cougars offense has looked very good early on.
Washington State is averaging 48.3 ppg on this young season which is 6th in the country. Last week’s 64-21 victory over Northern Colorado was a tomato can win, but WSU has looked good in victories over Wisconsin (31-22) and Colorado State (50-24) powered by Cameron Ward who has thrown for 990 yards, 9 TDS, 0 INTs and a completion percentage of 72%.
Free Week 4 Oregon State at Washington State Betting Pick
The fact that Oregon State is a road favorite makes you think a bit. Washington State has dominated this series as of late, is at home, and appears the have the better QB situation. Perhaps this is a trap to take the Cougars, but if so oddsmakers would need to have a lot of confidence in Uiagelelei which is a huge stretch.
Free Pick: Washington State +3
