Does Oregon State Have a QB Gem In DJ Uiagalelei?

The Oregon State Beavers will look to continue their hot start with a home game against an FCS school in UC Davis Aggies. The Beavers earned a 42-17 win over San Jose State in their opener and moved up two spots in the AP Poll.

Oregon State was ranked 16th in the nation before their game against UC Davis. However, this game could be even more challenging than last weekend against San Jose State.

UC Davis added a 48-10 win over Texas A&M Commerce to begin their season. The offensive line was extraordinary, and the run game did its thing for the Aggies. Competition is much greater, but with a massive spread, UC Davis has the potential to cover the spread at least.

Look at the California-Davis vs Oregon State odds for Saturday’s late-night matchup on the PAC12 Network.

Maybe D.J. Uiagalelei Is Actually Good

The Clemson Tigers appeared in the 2016, 2018, and 2019 National Championship games. But once Trevor Lawrence was sent to the NFL, the pressure was on D.J. Uiagalelei to be just as good as Lawrence and Deshaun Watson.

He wasn’t.

Uiagalelei started at quarterback in 2020, 2021, and 2022 for Clemson. But things were never the same once Lawrence left. In 2021, he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. In 2022, he was better, with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He just wasn’t better enough.

Clemson and Uiagalelei finally parted ways for the 2023 season. Uiagalelei decided to go out West to be with the Oregon State Beavers. He joined another university that had incredible defense but needed more offense. Oregon State believed in him and gave him a fresh start.

With a change of scenery and less pressure, Uiagalelei balled out in his season opener against San Jose State for the Beavers.

He completed 20 of 25 passes and threw three touchdowns while rushing for two more in the win.

Meanwhile, Clemson lost its opener to Duke, 28-7, in embarrassing fashion, without Uiagalelei running the show.

Maybe Uiagalelei wasn’t the problem after all.

Oregon State’s NCAAF schedule will only get more difficult after this UC Davis game. But Uiagalelei’s play will be something to monitor throughout the rest of the season.

How Good Is UC Davis?

Nodody’s predicting an upset for UC Davis against Oregon State. But a cover would do.

UC Davis plays in the FCS in the Big Sky conference. The Aggies finished 6-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play last season. However, the Aggies went 2-4 on the road in the 2022-’23 season.

UC Davis has only gone 2-8 in their last ten games against FBS opponents. The latest win came against Tulsa in 2021, where they won 19-17 as 21.5-point underdogs. Funny enough, the other outright win came against San Jose State, 44-38, as a 2.5-point underdog in 2018.

Oregon State just defeated San Jose State this year.

Anyway, UC Davis lost against the spread against California last year. They were a 14-point underdog and lost 34-13. But before that game against California, UC Davis had been 9-0 against the spread since 2015 when playing against FBS opponents.

In 2016, UC Davis was a 48-point underdog against Oregon. However, Oregon only scored 53 points, while UC Davis added 28 in the loss.

The Aggies have scored at least 17 points in seven of their last ten games against FBS opponents. However, they’ll have to face one of the most formidable defenses in college football this season. It’s hard to imagine UC Davis scoring more than one touchdown in this game.

Oregon State’s defense led the Pac-12 in scoring defense, yards per game, and rush yards per game while ranking third in passing yards allowed. Therefore, the baseline for UC Davis would be about one touchdown in this game.

The college football line isn’t expecting much from UC Davis in this matchup.

California-Davis vs Oregon State Odds

There are better games in NCAA Football this weekend than this one. But UC Davis is an intriguing team that deserves some recognition.

For FCS-FBS matchups, the odds don’t come out until Saturday. There likely won’t be a moneyline for Oregon State at most sportsbooks because Oregon State has an extremely high probability of winning this game.

UC Davis will be talented this year. The Aggies will win plenty of games in the Big Sky.

Miles Hastings went 22-for-30 at quarterback but threw just one touchdown with two interceptions in the game. Hastings was protected well in the pocket. But he still made some errors that he’ll need to clean up.

However, the run game has a lot of potential. Lan Arison added 109 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Meanwhile, Matteo Perez added 13 carries for 88 yards, with a touchdown. The entire running game averaged 6.2 yards per carry and scored five touchdowns.

It’s just unlikely to happen against Oregon State.

Oregon State held San Jose State to 4-for-13 in third downs. They also allowed just 279 yards total on the defensive end. San Jose State also added just 2.5 yards per rush.

The Beavers are dominant against the run and have one of the better secondaries in college football this season.

On offense, they’ve got a rejuvenated D.J. Uiagalelei, who seems to be much more comfortable in the Beavers’ system compared to his time with Clemson.

Oregon State also averaged 5.6 yards a carry, with Damien Martinez leading the way. He averaged 8.1 yards per rush and added 145 yards on 18 carries.

The Beavers should dominate offensively and will likely keep UC Davis out of the endzone for most of the game. If Pac-12 offenses struggle to figure out Oregon State’s defense, UC Davis’ will, too.

Lay The Points!

Trends can be helpful sometimes. But analytics and stats are usually more helpful, especially for FBS teams playing FCS opponents.

Oregon State will be much more physical at the line of scrimmage. They’ve also got some tremendous playmakers on both sides of the ball and a veteran quarterback who is thankful to have another opportunity at a different school.

The Beavers will have to protect Uiagalelei better in the pocket. But even when rushed, Uiagalelei didn’t throw any interceptions and completed 80% of his passes. UC Davis won’t get more pressure than San Jose State did last weekend.

However, UC Davis won’t have the same success rushing the football against Oregon State. Plus, the pass protection will likely break down much more despite being very good last weekend against Texas A&M Commerce.

After looking at the California-Davis vs Oregon State odds, we’d take Oregon State against the spread up to -31.

For college football betting news, odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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