Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: Utah at Oregon State

College Football Picks Oct. 18, 2013

AP

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion (4) throws a pass against California during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

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Thursday night football didn’t treat me well last week in the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point and features $10,000 starting bankrolls.

I found myself in one of the most dreaded situations in all of football betting — having a field-goal underdog with the game going to overtime. Naturally, everything, starting with the coin toss, broke against me to make BYU plus-3 a loser.

Better luck is on my wish list for this week.

Oregon State plus-2.5 vs. Utah: $330 to win $300

Beavers quarterback Sean Mannion dug a hole for the Utes last year by throwing for 443 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-48 overtime victory on the road. Why would this year play out differently?

Utah is improved, for starters, but it’s still not stout in the secondary. The Utes have given up nearly 700 combined passing yards in their first two Pac-12 games.

They had an unlucky draw facing Washington State’s Conor Halliday and UCLA’s Brett Hundley, but Mannion is another difficult matchup, despite his slow start. He’s having to adjust to a green receiving corps — sophomore Victor Bolden and freshman Hunter Jarmon play significant roles — that will get better as the season progresses.

The passing game may have grown in bounds in the 11 days since Oregon State last played, beating Colorado 36-31 on the road as 4-point favorites.

Those picking Utah have referenced a pair of spectacular performances on the road this season. While it’s impossible to argue with the results, the betting market might be giving Utah too much credit for catching vulnerable UCLA at the right time and beating just plain lousy Michigan.

In the aforementioned last game between these two teams, Oregon State was a 3.5-point underdog on the road. Now it’s about the same at Reser Stadium? Give me the points.

Standings: Bern (47-44-1, $10,351), Keefer (45-49, $10,061), Brewer (43-48-3, $6,105)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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