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It is time to continue our college football odds series with a Washington State-Fresno State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Washington State-Fresno State.
The Washington State Cougars and Fresno State Bulldogs meet in Week 7, and one of the fun things about this matchup is that both teams had Week 6 off. Neither team played on the weekend of Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5. It's not unheard of for two teams to both have an off week and then play each other the next week. This does occur in a few select instances. Alabama and LSU usually get the week off before they play. This is true for Florida and Georgia, also Texas and Oklahoma in some cases. It's fun because the week off for two teams means the coaching staffs both have an extra week to prepare. We get to see how good two coaching staffs really are in terms of scheme, scouting report, game preparation, and in-the-moment play selection. Washington State and Fresno State face that challenge this week, and it makes this game even more interesting.
Washington State is coming off a blowout loss to Boise State and star running back Ashton Jeanty. Boise State is an offensive juggernaut this season with Jeanty leading the way as a foremost Heisman Trophy contender. Washington State simply did not have an answer for Jeanty. It's not an embarrassing loss; a lot of teams are going to fail to stop Jeanty this year. Nevertheless, Washington State expects better than to give up over 40 points in any game it plays. The Cougars gave up 52 points to San Jose State earlier in the season and clearly have problems they need to fix on defense.
Fresno State is coming off a 59-14 loss to UNLV. The Rebels were playing with their backup quarterback, too, so Fresno State has its own defensive flaws to worry about. One other thing to point out about Fresno State is that the Bulldogs' 30-10 loss to Michigan early in the season looks a lot worse now that Michigan has lost twice in the first half of the season. Just how good a team is Fresno State? It's hard to get a clear-cut, well-defined answer right now. We should know a lot more after the Bulldogs face Washington State in one of the sneaky-intriguing games on the schedule this week.
Here are the Washington State-Fresno State College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Washington State-Fresno State Odds
Washington State: -3.5 (-105)
Moneyline: -156
Fresno State: +3.5 (-115)
Moneyline: +130
Over: 61.5 (-105)
Under: 61.5 (-115)
How to Watch Washington State vs Fresno State
Time: 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
TV: FS1
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Washington State Could Cover The Spread/Win
Washington State is going to fix its defensive problems — maybe not fully, but enough to cover a relatively small spread against a Fresno State team which gave up 59 points to UNLV. Washington State should be trusted more than UNLV to reduce its defensive mistakes and put its offense in position to thrive.
Why Fresno State Could Cover The Spread/Win
Fresno State is looking at a Washington State defense which has allowed 45 points or more in its last two games. The Bulldogs should be able to score at least 30 points against the WSU defense. Given that FSU allowed only 23 points to Michigan earlier this season — the final score was 30-10, but seven Michigan points were scored by the Wolverines' defense on a pick-six — it's reasonable to think FSU can hold Washington State under 30. FSU 30, WSU 27, is a realistic score for this game.
Final Washington State-Fresno State Prediction & Pick
Washington State is the clearly better team and should benefit more from a week off. Take WSU here.
Final Washington State-Fresno State Prediction & Pick: Washington State -3.5
