Against the Spread: Oklahoma State a Two-TD Favorite Over Oregon State

Betting odds for Oklahoma State’s season-opening football game against Oregon State have been out for months now, and the line, which favors the good guys, keeps on drooping. The Cowboys opened as 16.5 point favorites at SportsLine and many other outlets, but the line suggests Oregon State is a trendy bet here. At last check, the spread favors Oklahoma State by 14.5.

There’s no historical precedent to how to bet this game. This specific OSU vs. OSU — Oklahoma State vs. Oregon State — will be a first-ever meeting on the football field. But, Mike Gundy is 9-3 against teams from the Pac-12 since he took over the program, which should inspire some bright-orange-tinted confidence.

Before you wager some of your hard-earned cheddar on this game, let’s take a look at both team’s track record last year.

Against the spread in 2018

• Oklahoma State: 7-6. Yep, ironic enough, Oklahoma State’s record against the spread was also its overall record. It covered in wins against South Alabama, Boise State, Kansas, Texas, West Virginia and Missouri, and also in its loss to Oklahoma in which it was 21 point underdogs but fell by one point.

• Oregon State: 4-8. Better than its record! Oregon State went 2-10 overall and a miserable 1-8 in league play, but it covered the spread in four of its 12 games. The Beavers’ covers came evenly, with two covers coming in wins (S. Utah and Colorado) and two coming in losses (Washington and Nevada). As a home team Oregon State was 1-5-0 against the spread.

As an underdog in 2018

• Oklahoma State: Want some stats that make zero sense? Here goes:

• Oklahoma State was 5-0 against the spread overall as underdogs in 2018.

• Oklahoma State was 3-0 against the spread as home underdogs.

• Oklahoma State was 1-0 against the spread as away underdogs.

BUT … As the favorite? OSU was 2-6-0 against the spread, including matching 1-3 marks against the spread as both home and away favorites. I am grossed out!

• Oregon State: Oregon State was 1-0 against the spread as the favorite last season. 1-0! That means it was favored in only one game! As an underdog, however, the results were (obviously) less flattering. The Beavers in 2018 were 3-8-0 against the spread as dogs, including 0-5-0 against the spread as home dogs.

Over/under in 2018

• Oklahoma State: The over (surprise!) cashed in eight of Oklahoma State’s 13 games last season, including two of its three non-conference games. (The under cashed in the Boise game, of all games, by a measly 0.5 points.)

• Oregon State: Just like the superior OSU, Oregon State’s games went over in droves. In eight of its games, the over cashed, too. (Inferior OSU’s defense stunk last season.)

How to bet OSU-OSU

The over in this game is set at 74, and it’s a line that has continued to rise in the lead-up to the game. My advice: life is too short to bet the under. Take the over. Superior OSU might cash that number on its own.

As for the spread, I feel like no matter who takes the majority of the snaps at QB, Oklahoma State will score points. However, I have no clue if those are going to be garbage points in a blowout or part of a an OSU vs. OSU shootout.

My two cents: Because this is a night game (9:30 p.m. CT) located on the west coast and on a week night, I get a feeling that things could get quite weird. Plan for chaos, prepare financially and mentally.