Las Vegas Bowl
One of the best match-ups before New Year’s Day takes place on Tuesday night at 8:00pm EST in the 2009 Las Vegas Bowl as #16 Oregon State faces #15 BYU in a game that can be seen on ESPN. Both teams have potent offenses so this could be a high scoring game. “It probably will be a shootout,” BYU linebacker Shawn Doman said. “And it will be a close game, but I don’t like close games. It’s too stressful.” The college football bowl odds on this game are close with Oregon State a 2.5-point favorite at online sportsbooks. Whichever team’s defense is able to slow the other team’s offense down will probably win this game. .
After a brief lull on Monday, the college football bowl season will continue hot and heavy for the next week. While these bowls may not be particularly significant in the big picture, they’re often good wagering opportunities
This is the fifth straight year that BYU will make the five and a half hour trip from Provo to America’s ‘City of Lights’, Las Vegas.They face a tough foe in Oregon State.
Oregon State’s offense has a multitude of weapons to bring to bear against BYU including running backs Jacquizz and James Rodgers, and an underrated passing attack led by the efficient Sean Canfield at quarterback. The Beavers’ defense is underrated and although they struggled against quarterbacks who could move around in the pocket and throw the ball they won’t have that problem against the limited mobility of BYU’s Max Hall.
Bowl games have also been a problem for BYU in recent years, and they’ve covered only one of their five appearances in the Las Vegas Bowl. This includes a very lethargic performance losing to Arizona last year, and on balance this BYU team isn’t as good as their predecessor. On the other hand, Oregon State looks to be a more balanced team than Arizona last year and certainly has a more potent offense. Mike Riley is also a perfect 5-0 straight up in bowl games.
“It’s strength on strength. They do a lot of timing routes, and we like to disrupt timing routes. So it’s going to be a good challenge for their receivers and us.” The Beavers will also have to find a way to contain BYU running back Harvey Unga who had 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns. “They are so versatile, and they are balanced,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “They have a good quarterback and a 1,000-yard rusher. You have to defend all that. And they know what they are doing, confidently.”
Unlike many early bowl games, this looks to be one where the favorite enters with the greater focus and motivation. BYU’s struggles in their recent bowl appearances seem to validate the possibility that these trips to Las Vegas are no longer a big deal to the Cougar program. With the Beavers holding the talent edge in almost every phase of the game, they should win and easily cover the small pointspread.
Odds supplied by Betus
207 BYU Cougars +2½ -110 +115
208 Oregon State Beavers -2½ -110
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