Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl
Brigham Young Cougars vs. Oregon State Beavers (-2.5, 58.5)
Mormon nation will be headed to Sin City when the No. 14 BYU Cougars take on No. 18 Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
BYU had an outstanding 10-2 year with wins over Oklahoma and Utah, while the Beavers went 8-4 and finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-10.
Spread and totals
The spread for the game opened up at -1 in favor of Oregon State and now sits at -2.5 at most sports books.
The Beavers have a decent 7-4 ATS record this season and have covered the spread in their last four games. The postseason has been good to them as well. Oregon State holds an all-time bowl record of 8-4.
BYU went 6-6 ATS and this will only be the third time this year the team will be getting points. The Cougars lost, 31-21, and failed to cover as 3-point underdogs in last year?s Las Vegas Bowl.
The total for the game opened up at 60.5 and has since seen downward movement to 58.5. Popular opinion seems to be on the over regardless of the number, suggesting that some sharp bets were put on the under early on.
BYU is 7-5 on the over/under this year, while Oregon State is 5-6. This is the fifth straight year that BYU will be playing in the Las Vegas Bowl and the total has gone under three times in those previous four appearances. Last year's total was 62 and the game went under by 10 points.
BYU's second home
While alcohol sales at Sam Boyd Stadium will be one-sided, or at least they're supposed to be, the Cougar fan base has had a positive impact on this bowl game. BYU's first appearance in 2005 marked the first sellout for a bowl that was in financial trouble.
This year's game was announced as sellout earlier this week, with most of the support coming from BYU.
The players don't seem to mind the location.
"Vegas is a good venue. Unless you're going to a BCS game, I don't know where else you'd want to go," said BYU defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen. "There's a lot of stuff to do."
Oregon State coach Mike Riley is fully aware of this advantage.
"It is like a home game for BYU," he said. ?They've earned this spot in this bowl game, what is it, like five years in a row?"
Both teams have had previous appearances in Las Vegas this year against UNLV. Oregon State won 23-21, while BYU blew out the Running Rebels 59-21 in October
Name game
BYU's defense will be focused on the Rodgers? brothers. Jacquizz has rushed for 1377 yards and 20 TDs, while James has caught 88 passes for 1012 yards and nine TDs.
BYU QB Max Hall has a school high 31 wins as a starter and he will look to close out his collegiate career strong. He threw for 3368 yards this year and 30 TDs this year. He'll be carrying momentum from his game-winning TD in OT that beat rivals Utah 26-23
Does Oregon State care?
BYU will be graduating Max Hall along and several key players on defense. They?ll look to make a statement on a BCS team and Oregon State will have to be prepared for an early surge from the Cougars.
The Beavers ended the regular season with a heartbreaking, four-point loss to Oregon. A victory would have put them in the Rose Bowl.
"The first thing you have to do is address the disappointment," OSU coach Mike Riley said. "It's real. It's not going to go away."
Oregon State has a majority of its squad returning for next year and a good performance against BYU will influence its preseason ranking for 2010.
It?s been a tough year for the Beavers, but all four of their losses came against ranked teams. Only the game against Cincinnati was decided by more than a touchdown.
Las Vegas Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl
Brigham Young Cougars vs. Oregon State Beavers (-2.5, 58.5)
Mormon nation will be headed to Sin City when the No. 14 BYU Cougars take on No. 18 Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
BYU had an outstanding 10-2 year with wins over Oklahoma and Utah, while the Beavers went 8-4 and finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-10.
Spread and totals
The spread for the game opened up at -1 in favor of Oregon State and now sits at -2.5 at most sports books.
The Beavers have a decent 7-4 ATS record this season and have covered the spread in their last four games. The postseason has been good to them as well. Oregon State holds an all-time bowl record of 8-4.
BYU went 6-6 ATS and this will only be the third time this year the team will be getting points. The Cougars lost, 31-21, and failed to cover as 3-point underdogs in last year?s Las Vegas Bowl.
The total for the game opened up at 60.5 and has since seen downward movement to 58.5. Popular opinion seems to be on the over regardless of the number, suggesting that some sharp bets were put on the under early on.
BYU is 7-5 on the over/under this year, while Oregon State is 5-6. This is the fifth straight year that BYU will be playing in the Las Vegas Bowl and the total has gone under three times in those previous four appearances. Last year's total was 62 and the game went under by 10 points.
BYU's second home
While alcohol sales at Sam Boyd Stadium will be one-sided, or at least they're supposed to be, the Cougar fan base has had a positive impact on this bowl game. BYU's first appearance in 2005 marked the first sellout for a bowl that was in financial trouble.
This year's game was announced as sellout earlier this week, with most of the support coming from BYU.
The players don't seem to mind the location.
"Vegas is a good venue. Unless you're going to a BCS game, I don't know where else you'd want to go," said BYU defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen. "There's a lot of stuff to do."
Oregon State coach Mike Riley is fully aware of this advantage.
"It is like a home game for BYU," he said. ?They've earned this spot in this bowl game, what is it, like five years in a row?"
Both teams have had previous appearances in Las Vegas this year against UNLV. Oregon State won 23-21, while BYU blew out the Running Rebels 59-21 in October
Name game
BYU's defense will be focused on the Rodgers? brothers. Jacquizz has rushed for 1377 yards and 20 TDs, while James has caught 88 passes for 1012 yards and nine TDs.
BYU QB Max Hall has a school high 31 wins as a starter and he will look to close out his collegiate career strong. He threw for 3368 yards this year and 30 TDs this year. He'll be carrying momentum from his game-winning TD in OT that beat rivals Utah 26-23
Does Oregon State care?
BYU will be graduating Max Hall along and several key players on defense. They?ll look to make a statement on a BCS team and Oregon State will have to be prepared for an early surge from the Cougars.
The Beavers ended the regular season with a heartbreaking, four-point loss to Oregon. A victory would have put them in the Rose Bowl.
"The first thing you have to do is address the disappointment," OSU coach Mike Riley said. "It's real. It's not going to go away."
Oregon State has a majority of its squad returning for next year and a good performance against BYU will influence its preseason ranking for 2010.
It?s been a tough year for the Beavers, but all four of their losses came against ranked teams. Only the game against Cincinnati was decided by more than a touchdown.
