Washington vs. Oregon State Game Prediction, Preview

What to expect as Washington meets Oregon State in a battle of ranked Pac-12 conference rivals in Week 12 college football action

There's plenty of drama on the line this weekend as No. 5 Washington tries to clinch a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game, but not before having to pass a tough test against No. 11 Oregon State, which can play a huge role as spoiler in college football's Week 12 action on Saturday.

• Win, and you're in: Washington just needs to win this game in order to book a trip to Las Vegas to play for the last-ever Pac-12 title
• But the Beavers have a shot to change the narrative if they can beat both the Huskies and then Oregon in the regular season finale
• OSU is 14th nationally scoring 37.9 points per game on average
• Washington is No. 1 in passing production and No. 5 with 41 points per game

Washington vs. Oregon State preview, prediction

When: Sat., Nov. 18
Time: 4:30 p.m. Pacific
TV: ABC network
Stream live: fuboTV (Try for free)

Huskies vs. Beavers game odds

Courtesy of SI Sportsbook

Line: Oregon State -1.5
Total: 62.5 points
Moneyline: UW +100 | OSU -125
FPI pick: Washington 52.5% to win

What to watch for

1. Close game coming?. Washington was destroying opponents early in the season, but those margins have become much closer since settling into the Pac-12 schedule. In the first month of the season, the Huskies won their games by almost 33 points on average, but in the last 6 outings, that margin of victory has sunk to 7.2 points per game. That's a trend working against Washington as it goes on the road against a team that plays very well at home.

2. Battle at the line. It'll be a strength vs. a weakness when Oregon State runs the ball against Washington's rush defense. Lead back Damien Martinez is the engine behind OSU's ground attack, good for almost 600 yards just after contact, and is going against a Husky front seven that is a relative liability, ranking 127th nationally in success rate against the run.

3. Tough test. Fans tend to overlook the Beavers, but all of six combined points prevent this team from being undefeated right now and in the playoff hunt. Both of those losses came on the road, while at home OSU is a perfect 5-0 (9-0 dating back to last season) and winning games this year at Reser by an average of 27.2 points.

Washington vs. Oregon State prediction

Despite the Huskies' reputation for throwing the ball so effectively, this game could come down to which team runs it better. 

Oregon State should have the advantage against Washington's occasionally-flimsy run-stop and even the Huskies are getting more production on the ground as Dillon Johnson hit over 100 yards the last two games.

But the team that has the ability to make the bigger plays in the air when time is of the essence has the greater advantage, and that's been Washington M.O. all season.

College Football HQ picks...

• Washington 34-30
• In an upset
• And hits the over

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