Pac-12
This originally appeared in our 2025 VSiN College Football Betting Guide released on Tuesday, August 5. Become a VSiN Pro Subscriber and get our betting guides as part of your subscription.
The “Pac-2” doesn’t exactly need an overview, as it only has Oregon State and Washington State, but this is a good spot to talk about the new-look Pac-12. Well, much like the Big Ten (18 teams) and Big 12 (16 teams), the Pac-12 will not have 12 teams. For football, there will be eight teams and for basketball there will be nine teams beginning in 2026.
Those eight football members will include the Beavers and Cougars, along with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State. Gonzaga will be a basketball-only member of the conference. In order to be considered a conference, a minimum of eight teams were required.
So, Oregon State and Washington State will be orphaned no more after this season. However, filling out a 2025 schedule was still tricky. The two teams actually play each other twice, with both games in November. The first will be in Corvallis and the second will be in Pullman.
Unlike last season, when the teams played a lot of Mountain West opponents, they will play whoever they could get to agree to a game. The Civil War and the Apple Cup will both be played on September 20 against Oregon and Washington, respectively. Otherwise, the schedules are a hodgepodge of MAC, FCS, ACC, Big 12, American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Mountain West teams.
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Oregon State Beavers
Oregon State’s 2024 was a year of turmoil and adversity. The Beavers had just five returning starters and went 5-7 SU/4-8 ATS in Trent Bray’s first season. This year, Bray has 12 starters back and is looking to take a step forward.
Offense
It’s hard to be worse than what Oregon State was when it came to its passing offense last year. Between Gevani McCoy and Ben Gulbranson, the Beavers totaled 2,243 yards passing for the season. The two signal-callers posted a combined seven touchdown passes to 10 interceptions. Both are gone and in the portal comes former Texas and Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy.
In 12 starts for the Blue Devils last season Murphy posted a 72.1 PFF passing grade. He threw 26 touchdowns to 12 interceptions with a pristine 2.8% turnover-worthy play rate. It’s a low bar to clear, but Murphy should be a massive upgrade for this anemic passing attack.
Murphy’s biggest weapon comes in the form of running back Anthony Hankerson. The senior ran for 1,082 yards and 15 touchdowns last year and he averaged 4.7 yards per carry. His offensive line will be entirely rebuilt from last season, but he is a good enough back to make any unit better.
With Murphy under center and Hankerson back at running back, this unit – which averaged 24.3 points per game and 5.6 yards per play – should be better than it was in 2024.
Defense
The Beavers returned just one starter on defense in 2024 and that showed in the production. Oregon State allowed 29.9 points and 400 yards per game, as well as 6.5 yards per play. In 12 games they mustered just seven sacks. Obviously the hope is that there will be improvement with six starters back in 2025.
The strongest position group on paper seems to be the front seven. Only one piece along the defensive line – defensive tackle Semisi Saluni – is gone. Bray also added transfers to the group to solidify the depth overall.
At linebacker, the second-leading tackler Nikko Taylor is back. They also add a USC transfer to the mix and the rest of the group outside of the leading tackler from last season is here. Paired with an experienced defensive line, this front should be much better than the group that gave up 5.3 yards per carry last season.
The secondary is still a question, but it does boast good pieces like safety Skyler Thomas. With Bray leading the way, one would assume some minimal improvement.
Outlook
Oregon State looks better on paper this season, but the schedule is a beast. The Beavers make trips in consecutive weeks to Texas Tech and Oregon. They host Houston and play Washington State in a home-and-home series this season. The price on the win total seems somewhat accurate, but laying -170 on an Over doesn’t seem realistic despite the improvements.
Pick: UNDER 6.5 Wins
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Washington State Cougars
It is a new era in Pullman, as head coach Jake Dickert left in the offseason to take the Wake Forest job. Jimmy Rogers was hired from FCS powerhouse South Dakota State and will look to keep the Cougars’ winning ways going.
Offense
Washington State averaged 36.6 points and 6.6 yards per play in 2024. Those marks were the most the program had averaged since the 2019 season. Statistical decline should be expected for the Cougars after John Mateer left for Oklahoma in the offseason, but the dropoff might not be as dramatic.
Zevi Eckhaus is the expected starter for Washington State. Eckhaus started the bowl game for Wazzu against Syracuse and performed admirably with a thin roster. On 45 dropbacks against Syracuse, the senior signal-caller completed 72.1% of his passes for three touchdowns and two interceptions with an average of 8.4 yards per attempt. Eckhaus will be learning a new system, but he has experience with the little returning talent this unit has.
Most of the returning production for the Cougars is along the offensive line, where three starters are back. However, three of the top four rushers – including Mateer – and one of the top five receivers from last season are on the roster. It’s never positive to have this much turnover, but with a returning quarterback and a solid offensive line, this group should be able to start strong.
Defense
Rogers is a defensive coach and he brings his defensive coordinator – Jesse Bobbit – with him from South Dakota State. There is a scant amount of returning production on this side of the ball as well, but if there was a unit which could perform above expectation it could be this one.
The thinnest position on paper is the defensive line. All four starters from last season are gone, as is some of the depth. Rogers rebuilt the depth of this position group in the portal. There is some returning production – Isaac Terrell played in 12 games last season – but a group which allowed 5.2 yards per carry is likely worse.
Linebacker and defensive back are in slightly better shape. Linebacker Caleb Francl follows his head coach from South Dakota State after being named to the First All-American FCS Team. Keith Brown played in 13 games last season. In the defensive backfield Rogers has four members of his secondary from South Dakota State.
Outlook
Last season the two Pac-2 teams played a faux Mountain West conference schedule. That is not the case this season. The two teams will play each other twice, but the rest of their opponents are all over the place. The Cougars get five opponents off bye weeks, have consecutive road trips to Ole Miss and Virginia and get two Mountain West foes (SDSU, Colorado State). Given the turnover and difficult schedule, five wins seems like a fair result for the Cougars.
Pick: UNDER 5.5 Wins
