Washington vs. Oregon State point spread: Picking Huskies vs. Beavers

As Washington continues its quest for a conference championship, it prepares to take on Oregon State in a pivotal Pac-12 matchup Saturday. The Huskies enter the game with an undefeated record and as the No. 5 team in the country, but find themselves as 1.5-point underdogs on the road.

On3‘s Andy Staples and Josh Newberg broke down the matchup on Staples’ Monday podcast as he gave a bold prediction to start things off.

“This is the one I’ve been saying Washington’s gonna lose,” he said. “I think even if they lose this, whoever wins the Washington-Oregon Pac-12 Championship Game gets in the Playoff.”

Washington ranks as the top passing offense in the country behind quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with 378.0 air yards per game. However, the Huskies have cooled off some in the scoring department over the past few weeks as their past six wins have all been decided by 10 points or less.

Oregon State, meanwhile, has been on a tear and recently handed Stanford a 62-17 blowout loss. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has not thrown an interception since Week 5 and has 13 total touchdowns in that span.

Newberg commended Uiagalelei for the job he’s done this season. However, he disagreed with Staples in picking Washington thanks to the star power from Penix Jr. and the passing attack.

“DJ’s been playing phenomenal,” he said. “The way that he’s kind of stuck it to the critics and gone out and just balled, just played freely. He’s slinging it all around. It’s not a system thing. You can just truly see that, ‘hey, DJ can play.’

“That being said, I’m from Tampa. I’m a huge Michael Penix fan. Watched him at Tampa Bay Tech. We thought he might be the next Deon Cain. Deon Cain was a quarterback at Tampa Bay Tech, signed with Clemson and won a national championship at wide receiver. Of course, Michael Penix via Indiana has been just lights out. This move to Washington really let him unleash what he can do. They need to play better, though. Michael Penix needs to come back alive in order to win this game. I’m taking Washington.”

That gave Staples a chance to defend his pick. He argued that Washington could be a bit beaten up coming off of a tough game against Utah and several others prior.

He also highlighted the job Jonathan Smith has done of late with a 10-win season in 2022 and getting the Beavers to 8-2 thus far this year. Staples speculated that, with Oregon State one of the odd schools out in Pac-12 realignment, he could take an opportunity to move on after this season.

“I’m gonna take Oregon State to win this thing,” he said. “They don’t have to do much to cover. If they win, they’re covering probably. I just think Washington, there’s a body blow factor having just played Utah. Washington has had a string of tough games since the Oregon game. All of that tends to have a cumulative effect. Now you’ve gotta go on the road against an incredibly physical team.

“Jonathan Smith, by the way, one of the best coaches in the country. …I really think because of the circumstances that Oregon State’s in, he might be open to just about anything. Normally, a guy at his alma mater who’s doing well is not going anywhere. But because of what happened to Oregon State in conference realignment, I worry that this and the Civil War may be it for him. But this guy’s just been awesome. I would like to see him close it out well. If he can win one of these last two, that’s a great way to finish out this season. I think this is the one.”

Kickoff between Washington and Oregon State is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Corvallis.