Oregon State vs. Washington: Everything you need for the low-key best CFB matchup of Week 10

Week 9 of the 2022 college football season is here and the first weekend of November will give us a few big-time matchups to dive into. Tennessee will meet Georgia in possibly the biggest SEC regular season matchup this year, Clemson travels up to South Bend, IN, to face Notre Dame, and Alabama renews its rivalry with LSU. Where the rest of the country zigs, we'll zag.

Every week, we'll go full hipster and point out an under-the-radar game that you should also be paying attention to on the schedule. For this week, we'll go to the Pacific Northwest for a Friday night showdown in the Pac-12. Let's jump in.

Oregon State at Washington, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Washington -4.5
Total: 54.5
Moneyline: Washington -180, Oregon State +155

This week's matchup brings us to Seattle as the No. 23 Oregon State Beavers head north to battle the Washington Huskies. This will be the 107th all-time meeting between these two Pac-12 foes with the series dating all the way back to 1897. UW has been the dominant team in this series by owning a 67-35-4 record. The Huskies recently had a nine-game winning streak going against the Beavers before OSU finally snapped it with a 27-24 victory in Corvallis, OR, last year.

After dropping its first two conference games, Oregon State (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) has rattled off three straight victories heading into this showdown and re-inserted itself in the Pac-12 title race. The Beavers have been a well balanced team through two months, currently ranked 41st in offensive SP+ and 38th in defensive SP+.

Defense has been the calling card for the Beavers under head coach Jonathan Smith with the team yielding just 22.8 points and 350.9 yards per game. Their secondary has been opportunistic with defensive backs Jaydon Grant, Ryan Cooper Jr, Alex Austin, and Rejzohn Wright all combining for 10 interceptions this season. Meanwhile on offense, quarterback Ben Gulbranson has effectively replaced starter Chance Nolan, who missed a bulk of the month of October with a concussion. Running back Damien Martinez has been the workhorse, rushing for 517 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Washington (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) flirted with top 20 relevance in September, stumbled a few times, and has since rebounded over the last few weeks. The Huskies possess one of the more efficient offenses in the country, averaging 40.4 points per game and ranking 23rd in offensive SP+.

Transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has had himself a heck of a year in Seattle so far, completing 67.8% of his passes for 2,934 yards, 22 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan have stepped up as his primary weapons, both clocking six receiving touchdowns apiece. Meanwhile, running back Cameron Davis has been effective in the red zone with 10 touchdowns this year. On defense, edge rusher Bralen Trice is one to look out for with 6.5 sacks this season.

This should be a fun clash as the winner of this matchup will stay alive in the Pac-12 championship picture. I'd highly suggest flipping to ESPN2 if you're up late on Friday and want to watch an intriguing game with stakes.

  
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