The Pac-12 will have seven teams playing in bowl games this season after a stellar season all around the conference.
One of the year’s biggest surprises was the Oregon State Beavers, and head coach Johnathan Smith earned Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year honors alongside Washington Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer.
The Beavers got rewarded with a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl against the Florida Gators. Florida started off the year with a massive upset against the Utah Utes, as future NFL QB Anthony Richardson flashed his electric athletic ability.
However, the Beavers should be huge favorites for this game, especially with Richardson’s decision to sit out the bowl game after he declared for the 2023 NFL draft.
The Beavers are 10.5-point favorites coming into this game, after the line initially opened at five points. That’s how much the Gator opt-outs have changed perceptions of this contest. Things could get out of hand quickly for Florida.
Oregon State could clinch its first 10-win season since 2006 with a victory, so there is a lot on the line for the Beavers.
Florida RB Montrell Johnson Jr. should be a key focal point on Saturday for Oregon State’s defense; he finished the year with 827 yards rushing and 10 scores.
The Beavers have played multiple quarterbacks this year: Chance Nolan (7 TDs, 8 INTs) played earlier in the year, and turned to Ben Gulbranson lately (8 TDs, 5 INTs) after Nolan got hurt. Gulbranson has been the guy lately, although Oregon State has relied on their rushing attack this year — 51st in the nation with 199.2 yards per game.
With no Richardson for the Gators and Jack Miller making his first career start, things look great for the Beavers.
[mm-video type=video id=01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa/01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa-5f1ce800029f353b16aab280fdc8f9aa.jpg]
[listicle id=54067]