NCAAF: COWBOYS’ SKID DOESN’T AFFECT BETTORS
Sportsbook.com bettors aren’t fazed by the Oklahoma State Cowboys’ recent woes against the spread.
Despite failing to cover a spread in the final three games of the Big 12 season, Oklahoma State enters Tuesday’s Pacific Life Holiday Bowl with 68% of the bettor’s support. The Cowboys are three-point favorites over the Oregon Ducks and you can wager on the matchup on our Live Odds page.
You can follow all the action of this Big 12 vs. Pac-10 game on ESPN, starting at 8 pm ET. Remember, it’s not too late to win $100,000.00 in our Big Bowl Frenzy. Register now and you could win $100,000.00, or part of the $5,000.00 in guaranteed prizes, for correctly picking selections for the final 17 Bowl Games.
Oklahoma State built a huge following of bettors this season as they covered their first eight spreads of the season and came close to upsetting then #1 Texas as 11 ½-point underdogs in late October. The Cowboys had plenty of believers before a 56-20 loss to Texas Tech on November 8th.
That loss, as 3 ½-point underdogs, started a three-game ATS losing streak that cost bettors a lot of cash. However, one thing that slide didn’t do was scare supporters. The majority of the action for Tuesday’s game is on the Cowboys as they prepare to face an Oregon team that has almost identical numbers in every major offensive and defensive category.
Oklahoma State ranks 7th in the nation in Total Offense with 489.2 yards per game; Oregon ranks 8th with 478.2 per game. Oklahoma State ranks 7th in rushing with 255.8 yards per game while they are 8th with 41.6 points per game; Oregon ranks 4th in rushing with 277.8 yards per game and is 7th in scoring with 41.9 points a game.
The similarities continue on defense with Oregon ranked 81st in Total Yards against and 78th in Points Allowed. Oklahoma State ranks 87th in Total Yards against and 69th in Points Allowed. They each struggle against the pass but are better against the run and post similar stats in both of those categories too.
With the exception of Oregon getting more of its offense from the ground game while Oklahoma State passes slightly more than their opponent, there’s not much difference between these teams. The biggest reason for the betting discrepancy is that Oklahoma State had been ranked highly all season and received national exposure in games against Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, Oregon quietly went about its business to finish second in the Pac-10 with a 7-2 conference record, covering their final two games to finish 6-6 ATS. They finished with a 9-3 overall record, not bad for a team that almost ran out of quarterbacks at one point this season.
Now, with quarterbacks Justin Roper and Jeremiah Masoli healthy, Oregon is again a threat through the air as well as on the ground. The rushing attack features two of the best backs in the country. Jeremiah Johnson rushed for 1,082 yards this year while LeGarrette Blount had 929 yards. Masoli added 612 rushing yards and 1,486 passing yards.
