Brigham Young Cougars at Oregon St Beavers
Reser Stadium – Corvallis, Oregon
Saturday, October 15, 2011, 4:00 pm Eastern, TV: Fox College Sports
Opening Line: BYU -1 1/2
Current Line: Oregon St -3 (-115)
Opening Total: 47 1/2
Current Total: 51
Opening Money Line: BYU -130 / Oregon St +110
Current Money Line: Oregon St -160 / BYU +140
The 4-2 BYU Cougars travel to the 1-4 Oregon St Beavers Saturday. BYU is coached by Bronco Mendenhall, and has wins at Ole Miss 14-13, and home wins against Central Florida 24-17, Utah St 27-24, and last week against San Jose St 29-16. The Cougars have losses at Texas 17-16 and at home to arch-rival Utah 54-10. Since the Utah loss, BYU has won 3 in a row. Oregon St is coached by Mike Riley, and got their first win of the season last week at home against Arizona 37-27. The Beavers have home losses to Sacramento St 29-28 in overtime and UCLA 27-19, along with road losses at Wisconsin 35-0, and Arizona St 35-20. This is the tenth meeting between BYU and Oregon St. The Beavers lead the series 5-4 but BYU won the last meeting 44-20 in the 2009 Maaco Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars haven’t played in Corvallis since 1978.
BYU hosted San Jose St last week. The Cougars were up 23-6 at halftime, but could only manage 2 second half field goals. BYU won 29-16 but didn’t cover the 14.5 point spread. The Cougars had 443 total yards including 224 rushing yards. BYU quarterback Riley Nelson threw for 219 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Nelson also had 9 carries for 65 yards. BYU had 3 turnovers in the win, and San Jose St had 2 of their own. Running back Michael Alisa had 16 carries for 91 yards. The Spartans had 325 total yards including just 70 rushing yards. BYU opened the scoring with a safety in the first quarter.
BYU is averaging 343.2 yards a game including 99 rushing yards. The Cougars score 20 points. The Cougars rank near the bottom of the country in all three categories. BYU has 15 turnovers and has allowed 5 sacks. The Cougars are 41/95 on third and fourth down conversions, and 14/18 scoring in the red zone with 8 touchdowns. BYU is allowing 351.3 yards a game including 200.2 passing yards. The Cougars are allowing 23.5 points a game. BYU has forced 5 sacks and 11 turnovers this season. Cougar opponents are 31/83 on third and fourth down conversions, and 15/21 scoring in the red zone with 7 touchdowns.
Nelson and Jake Heaps have split the snaps this season for BYU, but Nelson played the whole game last week against San Jose St. Heaps could see some action if Nelson struggles, but Nelson is the starter for the time being. Heaps is 100/ 185 passing with 962 yards, 3 touchdowns or 5 interceptions. Nelson is 27/45 passing for 401 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, along with 25 carries for 135 yards. running back J.J. Di Luigi has 56 carries, 230 yards, and a touchdown along with 15 catches fro 119 yards . Joshua Quezada has 42 carries for 142 yards, and 2 catches for 8 yards. Bryan Kariya has 40 carries, 139 yards and a touchdown, along with 10 catches, 71 yards and a touchdown. Alisa was only used sparingly before the San Jose St game with only 3 carries total in the other 5 games, but he could be in the rotation of the running backs. Seven Cougar receivers have at least 10 catches this year. Cody Hoffman has 19 catches, 258 yards, and a touchdown. McKay Jacobson has 17 catches, 204 yards, and a touchdown. Ross Apo, Marcus Mathews, and Richard Wilson also get significant targets. Apo has 3 touchdown catches to lead the team. Kicker Justin Sorensen is 13/13 on extra points and 9/11 on field goals with a long of 46 yards.
Last week Oregon St was a 1.5 point favorite at home against Arizona. The two teams were scoreless in the first quarter, but the Beavers took a 27-6 lead going into halftime. Arizona rallied but the deficit was too large, and Oregon St got their first win of the season 37-27. Arizona actually pulled to within 3 points in the fourth quarter, but Oregon St scored a late touchdown to secure the victory. The Beavers had 408 total yards including 280 passing yards. Oregon St quarterback Sean Mannion threw for 267 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Both touchdown passes went to Joe Halahuni who only had 5 catches for 29 yards. Running back Jovan Stevenson has 17 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. Arizona had 431 yards, but only 53 rushing yards. Both teams had 6 penalties. Arizona had four turnovers and Oregon St had just the two Mannion interceptions. Both teams had a defensive/special teams touchdown, with Oregon St scoring on a blocked punt, and Arizona scoring on an interception return.
Oregon St is averaging 390.2 yards and 20.8 points through two games. The Beavers are averaging 279.8 passing yards a game but only 110.4 rushing yards. The Beavers have 12 turnovers and have allowed 8 sacks. Oregon St is 36/86 on third and fourth down conversions. Oregon St is only 14/19 in the red zone with 7 touchdowns. Oregon St is allowing 383.8 yards and 30.6 points a game. The Beavers are allowing 253.4 passing yards. OSU has forced 10 turnovers and 9 sacks. Beaver opponents are 30/71 on third and fourth down conversions, and 16/20 scoring in the red zone with 16 touchdowns.
Mannion is 129/197 passing for 1,282 yards, and 4 touchdowns and 7 picks, along with 8 carries for 34 yards. Running back Malcolm Agnew has 33 carries, 323 yards, and 3 touchdowns. He hasn’t played since the opener against Sacramento St and is listed as questionable with ankle and hamstring injuries. He is still the leading rusher for the Beavers despite missing 4 games. Stevenson has 28 carries for 157 yards, and a touchdown, along with 11 catches for 57 yards. He is listed as probable with a concussion. Terron Ward has 28 carries, 74 yards and a touchdown, along with 5 catches for 36 yards. Six Beaver receivers have at least 11 catches. Markus Wheaton has 38 catches for 444 yards. Jordan Bishop has 21 catches for 296 yards, and a touchdown, but is questionable with an ankle injury. James Rodgers has 14 catches, 149 yards, and a touchdown, along with 4 carries for 29 yards. Jordan Jenkins had 18 catches, 134 yards, along with 19 carries for 42 yards. He could get more carries if Agnew and Stevonson can’t go. The Beavers have 8 players listed as either questionable, doubtful, or out for the BYU game. Kicker Trevor Romaine is 9/9 on extra points and 9/12 on field goals with a long of 45 yards.
Oregon St is 2-3 against the spread this season and the total is 2-2-1 in those games. BYU is 2-4 ATS this season and 5 of the 6 games have gone under. Oregon St is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 October games, 38-12-2 ATS in the last 62 October games, 20-7 ATS following a straight up win, 10-4 ATS against teams with winning records, 52-24-1 following a cover in the previous game, 2-5 ATS in the last 7 non conference games and overall, 1-4 ATS on turf, 1-5-1 in the last 7 as a home favorite, and 0-4 as a favorite. BYU is 4-0 ATS as an underdog, 4-1 ATS following a game where they failed to cover and on the road, 6-2 following a straight up win, 5-2 ATS as a road dog, 5-11 ATS versus teams with losing records, 3-11 in their last 14 October games, and 1-4 ATS as a rod dog of less than 3 points.
Don’t expect to see a lot of points in this game as the two defenses are very good, and the offenses are mediocre at best. This should be a close game, as these teams are pretty evenly matched. BYU goes on the road for the first time since the Texas game September 10 after a 4 game home stand.
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