MAACO Las Vegas Bowl Preview :
Oregon State will outlast BYU

BYU (10-2) vs. Oregon State (8-4)
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada (TV on ESPN)
Tuesday, 22nd December 2009 - Kickoff 8pm ET

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Sportsbook Lines : Oregon State -2,
Over / Under Total Points 57

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The bowl season is underway and we have already seen some December upsets with the Wyoming Cowboys knocking off the Fresno State Bulldogs as an 11-point underdog.

On Tuesday, we should have our best bowl game yet with the two biggest brand names teams so far in the young sports betting bowl season.

The Oregon State Beavers just missed out on an opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl, which would have been the school’s first appearance in 45 years. The Beavers lost to rival Oregon in the Civil War for a second straight year, which cost them that opportunity. Nonetheless, they are bowling once again and they have won five straight.

Meanwhile, the BYU Cougars are back in the Las Vegas Bowl for the fifth straight year. They were also hoping for bigger and better things after they knocked off Oklahoma at the start of the season but that never translated into much.

The Cougars went on to lose to the Florida State Seminoles and TCU Horned Frogs in lopsided fashion, which ended up costing them any hopes of a Mountain West Championship and a better bowl.

Internet sports betting experts will have to keep their eye on BYU in this game – especially quarterback Max Hall – who is coming off what might be his worst game in college.

Against Utah in the team’s regular season finale, Hall completed just 12-of-32 passes for just 134 yards. Hall is a veteran quarterback and would love to showcase what he can do for NFL scouts in attendance but he’ll have to play much better than that if he wants to leave a good impression.

That will be the underlying story of the game, though, as the BYU Cougars have a veteran squad including Hall, tight end Dennis Pitta and running back Harvey Unga that all may be jumping to the NFL while the Beavers will be returning 18 of 22 starters next year and could be Pac 10 contenders.

The Beavers have a very good run defense and the only times they have really lost this year is when that unit was gashed (see: USC, Oregon).

The Cougars are more of a passing-oriented team and they will have a tough time handling a very good Beavers defense.

THe Betting Verdict

Look for Mike Reilly and the Oregon State Beavers to get their sixth straight bowl win.

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Oregon State -2 to win and cover.