If you didn’t know that Jimmy Kimmel is sponsoring a bowl game, you do now! There's a new entrant into college football bowl season this year, as the Utah State Aggies take on the Oregon State Beavers in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium
The inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl kicks off at SoFi stadium in what appears to be one of the best bowl games of the opening weekend. Utah State enters as the surprising Mountain West Champion after knocking off San Diego State in the championship game, while Oregon State will be playing in its first bowl game since 2013.
Will Utah State continue its success story in year one under Blake Anderson, or will the Beavers prove too much to handle?
Check out our college football betting picks and predictions for the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl between the Utah State Aggies and the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday, December 18, to find out.
Utah State vs Oregon State odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Utah State opened +8, but quickly took money and moved down to +7. The total took a lot of action on the Over, moving from 64.5 at open to 67 at the time of writing.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets.
Utah State vs Oregon State predictions
Predictions made on 12/14/2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Utah State vs Oregon State game info
• Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
• Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC
Utah State vs Oregon State betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Utah State: Andrew Peasley QB (Questionable), Jacob South OL (Questionable).
Oregon State: Deshaun Fenwick RB (Questionable), Jake Levengood OL (Questionable), Cody Anderson DL (Questionable), Sione Lolohea DL (Questionable), Tristan Gebbia QB (Out), Avery Roberts LB (Out), Alton Julian DB (Out).
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Utah State is 6-1 against the spread in its last 7 games. Find more NCAA betting trends for Utah State vs. Oregon State.
Utah State vs Oregon State picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
It’s been a remarkable turnaround in year one of the Blake Anderson era. A year ago, Utah State went just 1-5 and looked like one of the worst teams in college football, falling by at least three scores in each loss. Fast forward a year later and the Aggies sit at 10-3 and are Mountain West Champions after hiring Anderson from Arkansas State.
They’ve been just as impressive against the spread, finishing 9-4. They’ve been consistently undervalued, especially as the away team where they have a perfect 7-0 record. The team will be happy to make the trip back to Southern California for the Bowl game as they just demolished San Diego State 46-13 in the conference championship in Carson, California.
The Aggies have been a pesky underdog, going 5-2 ATS in their last 7 such games. While the defense may be a concern against a strong Oregon State rushing attack, Utah State has enough firepower to keep this game within striking distance.
Quarterback Logan Bonner had a great season with 3,554 yards and 36 touchdowns while averaging 8.5 yards per attempt. He has several dangerous receivers to throw to, as three Aggies eclipsed 700 yards receiving on the season. Chief among them is star receiver Deven Thompkins, a dangerous deep threat who accumulated 96 receptions for 1,589 yards and 9 scores.
This offense has been hard to stop all season, and the Beavers are far from a fearsome unit defensively. Currently operating without a defensive coordinator after firing Tim Tibesar following several dreadful performances on that side of the ball, the Beavers are allowing 5.8 yards per play defensively on the season. We have to look toward the underdog as they have been an undervalued team all season and should be able to score enough offensively to make this a tight, entertaining game. The inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl looks like a good one.
Prediction: Utah State +7 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
As alluded to earlier, we like Utah State’s chances to move the ball through the air against a Beavers secondary ranked 87th nationally at defending the pass. An Arkansas State transfer, quarterback Bonner has accumulated 6,726 yards and 66 touchdowns in his career. We expect the veteran quarterback to put on a show at SoFi Stadium. Even if the Beavers focus on Thompkins, the secondary receiving options in Brandon Bowling (784 yards, 9 TDs) and Derek Wright (756 yards, 11 TDs) are dangerous enough to make them pay.
Oregon State is no slouch offensively, averaging 32.8 points per game led by a 13th-ranked rushing attack. With 219.5 yards per game on the ground, we can expect the Beavers to bully a Utah State defense ranked 82nd at defending the rush. This is their first Bowl game since 2013 and coach Jonathan Smith has this team headed in the right direction, so we can expect them to be motivated and energized, which should lead to even more points.
Prediction: Over 67 (-110)
Best bet
In a college football landscape littered with transfers, opt-outs, and coaching moves, both teams are expected to be relatively close to full strength.
This appears to be a high-scoring matchup between two closely-matched teams. We’re getting a touchdown worth of points for the team with the better record and better passing offense, so we’re taking those points.
Pick: Utah State +7 (-110)
Did you know that if you parlayed our Utah State vs. Oregon State picks, you could win $26.45 on a $10 bet?
Use our college football parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
