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LA Bowl 2021: Odds, Daily Fantasy Tips for Utah State vs. Oregon State
December 17, 2021
The Utah State Aggies and Oregon State Beavers authored two of the best stories in FBS college football this season.
Utah State went from 1-5 to 10-3 with a Mountain West championship. Oregon State is appearing in its first first bowl since 2013.
The Aggies and Beavers will square off in the inaugural LA Bowl that will be held inside SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Both offenses average over 430 yards and 30 points per game, but the style of play out of one team could force the game to go under its high projected total.
LA Bowl Information
Date: Saturday, December 18
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Live Stream: ESPN.com and ESPN app
LA Bowl Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread: Oregon State (-7)
Over/Under: 67.5
Money Line: Oregon State (-305; bet $305 to win $100); Utah State (+240; bet $100 to win $240)
Daily Fantasy Tips
Trust B.J. Baylor To Keep Utah State's Offense Off The Field
B.J. Baylor's success on the ground was vital to Oregon State's seven-win season.
Baylor carried the ball on 209 occasions for 1,259 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Oregon State should call on a heavy dose of Baylor to tilt the LA Bowl in its favor against a Utah State defense that allows 162.6 rushing yards per game.
Baylor owns four performances with 150 or more yards, and he has even been productive in games in which he did not record high totals: He had two scores in a 24-yard outing in Week 1 against the Purdue Boilermakers.
Utah State's rushing defense was its biggest weakness in its three defeats. It allowed 732 rushing yards to the Boise State Broncos, BYU Cougars and Wyoming Cowboys.
The BYU loss could be most significant to the LA Bowl since Oregon State has a high-volume running back much like Tyler Allgeier at BYU. Allgeier averaged 9.9 yards per carry and scored three times against Utah State on October 1.
Utah State's rushing defense was even gashed a bit in its blowout victory over the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Championship Game. The Aztecs ran for 148 yards on 39 carries despite scoring only 16 points.
If Baylor thrives on a high volume of carries, Oregon State can dictate the pace of the LA Bowl and keep it under the projected total of 67.5 points.
The Beavers could also pave a way toward covering the one-touchdown spread if Baylor runs all over the Utah State defense.
Look To Deven Thompkins As Big-Play Threat
Utah State wide receiver Deven Thompkins leads the team with 1,589 receiving yards and 16.6 yards per catch.
Thompkins' big-play ability could keep Utah State within one score, and that may make him a top daily fantasy pick at the position.
The senior is due for a breakout game after he produced three straight stat lines with fewer than 70 yards. He still caught 19 passes in that span.
Thompkins has a long reception of over 40 yards in seven of Utah State's 13 games, but he has not had a reception over 15 yards in the last two contests.
Oregon State gave up one long touchdown in its last three games. Devin Williams broke free for a 50-yard Oregon Ducks touchdown in the first quarter on November 27.
Thompkins should at least be targeted at a high rate and his potential to break one or two long gains makes him an intriguing player near the top of the wide receiver chart for Saturday's six-game bowl slate.
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