Bowl Season continues tonight and the pros at FiveStarPick.com have been working overtime to analyze tonight’s Las Vegas Bowl between the BYU Cougars and the Oregon State Beavers.  Las Vegas Sportsbooks list Oregon State as 2.5-point favorites with a total of 58.5.

Both of these teams expect to win tonight, but BYU(10-2 SU, 5-6 against the spread) is not getting much love from the betting public. However, several of our colleagues here in Vegas are questioning Oregon State’s (8-4 SU, 7-4 against the spread) heart in this game considering they were just a win away from going to the Rose Bowl. The Beavers lost to Oregon, 37-33, on December 3rd and are now playing here in Vegas, instead of Pasadena. We know the BYU boys will be staying close to the hotel room at night, but the big question for us is how will the Beavers react to the distractions this town brings? Seamless Gentlemen’s Club can be very tempting to a young man, and an old man for that matter, but I digress.  

If you want to know why the public likes Oregon State so much, look no further than Beaver QB, Sean Canfield (21 TDs, 3,103 yards). Canfield was a stud this year in the Pac 10 and with the help of running back Jacquizz Rodgers (1,377 yards, 20 TDs), opposing defenses have had there fair share of problems. Rodgers older brother, wide receiver James Rodgers, is another offensive weapon for OSU. James led the Beavers in receptions (87), yards (1,007) and receiving touchdowns (9) this season.

If you need additional reasons to back Oregon State tonight, their offense averaged 32.4 points per game this year and only turned it over eight times, the best in the nation.  In addition, the Beavers are 5-0 SU and 4-1 against the spread during Mike Riley’s tenure. The Beavers closed the year with a 7-1 record against the spread.

BYU has been no stranger to the desert. This will be the fifth straight year that the Cougars will play in the Las Vegas Bowl.  The team has gone 2-2 during this stretch, which includes last year’s setback to Arizona (21-31). This season, BYU has quarterback Max Hall (3,368 yards and 30 TDs) who is completing 67.5 percent of his passes. Hall also has a solid running back in Harvey Unga (1,016, 10 TDs), but tight end Dennis Pitta (57 catches, 784 yards) has been Hall’s goto guy for the 3rd down conversion.

The knock on BYU this year has been their defense against quality opponents. Florida State tourched the Cougars 54-28 in Provo on September 19th and TCU put up 38 on the Cougars on October 24th in Fort Worth. The bright spot for the Cougar defense was a 13-point effort against Oklahoma in Week 1.

Now let’s talk trends…The Pac 10 is 3-0 against the spread in head-to-head meetings against the Mountain West Conference during the regular season. Dating back to 2000, OSU is 7-1 SU and 5-3 against the spread versus schools from the MWC.  BYU is 5-4 against the spread in its nine meetings against Pac 10 opponents. The Pac 10 went 4-1 against the spread in bowl games last year and 10-1 against the spread in the last two postseasons.

So who covers the spread in the Las Vegas Bowl?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 6:37 am and is filed under Five Star Pick Main Page, NCAA Football Info & Picks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.