2005 Oregon State Beavers Handicapping Review

 

By Tom Wilkinson

 

Starting with the 1998 season Oregon State became an unusually consistent winner against the odds with consecutive marks against the pointspread of 8-3, 8-2, and 8-2 at the conclusion of the 2000 season. Entering 2001, the Beavers were far past due for a sports handicapping market correction and, sure enough, failed to get the cash in five of their first seven games before rallying with three straight wins against the odds to close 2001. In 2002, the Beavers covered their first three games to extend their payoff streak to six, but then suffered a stunning sports handicapping market correction that saw them blow nine of their next twelve games against the odds, which extended into their first three lined games of 2003. Oregon State then recovered to get the cash in five of their next six games, before dropping two of their final three against the pointspread. Thus, entering the 2004 campaign, few sports betting bloggers knew what to make of the Beavers.

Oregon State, during this span, often proved to be an excellent sports handicapping value as they have never been a “name brand” Pac 10 Conference football team and have often been a sports betting afterthought compared to the league’s “name brand” teams such as USC, Oregon, UCLA, and Washington.

In their 2004 season opener at defending National Champion LSU, Oregon State figured to appear on few lists of football picks, even as a 17.5-point dog. In an epic heartbreaker, the Beavers lost 21-22 on national television due to their inability to convert extra point attempts. Oregon State was ripe for a huge and massive letdown and, in fact, they lost their next four games against the odds, winning just one of those games straight up. After a 7-49 home loss to California as 6.5-point dogs for their fourth failure against the pointspread, online sports betting blogs wrote them off for good and, in fact, labeled them as a “go against” team to top anyone’s list of football picks.

Being ridiculed and written off by the general sports betting community, Oregon State was primed for a sports handicapping market correction and, in fact, beat the sports betting odds in their final seven consecutive games of 2004, winning six of those games straight up including an Insight Bowl win and cover against Notre Dame to finish 7-5 straight up and 8-4 against the odds.