Preview and pick for the Pac-12 matchup between Washington and Oregon State

Pac-12 pecking order is in play Saturday evening (ET), with conference-leading No. 5 Washington Huskies (10-0, 7-0 conference) visiting the 10th-ranked Oregon St. Beavers (8-2, 5-2). Game time at Reser Stadium in Corvallis is 7:30 PM ET.

Washington’s done everything asked of them to date, the latest win a 35-28 home decision against the nationally-ranked Utah Utes. That came after hanging 52 points at the defenseless Southern California Trojans in their previous game.

Against the Utes, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (24-of-42, 332 yards, two touchdowns) and running back Dillon Johnson (23 carries, 104 yards, one touchdown) led the way.

Oregon St. drilled the Stanford Cardinal, 62-17, at home last week, just missing 600 yards of offense in the process. Damien Martinez (146 rushing yards, four touchdowns) ripped through Stanford as OSU scored 55 points in the first 45 minutes.

Oregon St. is a slim, two-point favorite at home (total at 63½), according to college football odds. Moneyline is Beavers -130, Huskies +110.

Washington has a 68-35-4 lead in the series. It’s the first meeting when both schools are top-10 in the rankings.

Huskies Quite Offensive

Ranking fifth in scoring nationally in both points (41) and yardage (503.9) per game, the Washington Huskies lead the NCAA in passing (378 yards/game). Thus, no mystery is to what they prefer to do.

The aforementioned Penix Jr. (3,533 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, seven interceptions) has any number of weapons, including wide receivers Rome Odunze (59 receptions, 1,100 yards, nine touchdowns) and Ja’lynn Polk (55 receptions, 943 yards, eight touchdowns). And, do not ignore Dillon Johnson (790 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns) and the ground game.

The Huskies have some holes defensively, though, as they have surrendered at least 24 points in six of their last seven. 

Beavers No Surprise

They were 10-3 and nationally-ranked a season ago, so the success of the Oregon St. Beavers should not surprise.

Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei (2,254 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, four interceptions) has a dozen touchdowns without a pick in his last five. Wideout Silas Bolden (42 receptions, 598 yards. four touchdowns) and tight end Jack Velling (27 receptions, 418 yards, eight touchdowns) are the targets of choice.  Defenses have been trying to stop running back Damien Martinez all season as he has seven touchdowns to go with 1,024 yards on the ground.

Defensively, the Beavers have held their last two opponents (Colorado Buffaloes and Stanford Cardinal) to a combined 36 points, though these Huskies are a different animal indeed.

Dogs as ‘Dogs

Washington is 12-1 (+1200) to win the title, while Oregon St. is 500-1 (+50000), as per college football championship odds.

While the Huskies have taken their opponents’ best shots this season, Penix and the offense always find a way. Playing in front of their fans obviously helps the Beavers, but Oregon St. does not have the firepower needed here.

Take the Washington Huskies +110 to win Saturday evening (ET). Go under, too.