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Bryan Leonard''s Free Selection
Washington State at Oklahoma State
Make no bones about it this Washington State team
has been horrendous the past two seasons posting
a 3-22 record. They were 9-15 ATS and the
linesmaker knows he has to increase the tariff in
order to get action on the Cougars. That said, this is
the third year of Paul Wulff's system and there is a
light at the end of the tunnel. There are 15
returning starters including the quarterback and the
line play is really improving. For those that follow
football closely you are well aware that the game is
won and lost in the trenches and this team is
getting better and better on the lines. In fact, the
defensive line has been the strength of the team in
camp.
While we like the improvement of the Cougars the
real reason we look to take the underdog here is
that Oklahoma State lost a ton of talent in the
offseason. They return just eight starters and 11
players will be making their very first starts of their
college careers. As many as 10 true freshmen could
see action Saturday for the Cowboys. In addition to
the huge graduation losses Oklahoma State has lost
three defensive players in the two deep to season
ending injuries. They have also lost three middle
linebackers for the season. After improving from
28.1 ppg allowed in 2008 to 21.7 ppg permitted
last season we expect a huge jump in points
allowed this year. The Cowboys were a combined
18-8 the last two seasons but you can argue that
no other team in the country can match the Cowboy
losses.
With so many new faces on the roster it's virtually
impossible for head coach Mike Gundy to have his
team hitting on all cylinders this early in the
season. Last year the Cowboys were double digit
favorites four times posting a 1-3 spread record,
the only spread win was against non-FBS squad
Grambling State. Not only did the Cowboys struggle
to put away the opposition, but they lost outright
hosting Houston as a 15 point favorite. In fact,
against regularly lined teams Oklahoma State lost to
the spread when favored by double digits by a
combined 56 points! Gundy will be looking to play a
lot of players in this game to get a better idea of
what he has before hosting a solid Troy team next
week. Does that sound like a team worthy of laying
more that two touchdowns with?
PLAY WASHINGTON STATE
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