A close contest is expected between these regional rivals as BYU and Boise State meet for the fourth straight season.
BYU will be forced to play without their star quarterback who was lost for the season again in last week’s thrilling last-second win at Nebraska.
ODDS
Boise State is a 2.5-point favorite with the total bet down to 54.5.
Last season the Broncos buried BYU 55-30 as a 6.5-point home favorite. Boise State rolled up 607 yards and handed BYU its fourth straight loss with the Cougars playing without their star quarterback.
KEY MISMATCH
Boise State defense versus redshirt freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum:
BYU suffered a big blow last week when star quarterback Taysom Hill suffered a season and career-ending Lisfranc foot injury in the last second win over Nebraska. His leadership and play-making abilities will be missed for the second-straight season.
Tanner Mangum threw the 40-yard Hail Mary pass to beat Nebraska 33-28 on the last play of the game last week. Mangum was a heralded recruit and co-MVP of the Elite 11 with Jameis Winston and he’s a big 6-foot 6-inch, 230 pound quarterback who can make the plays in the passing game but now faces a top-tier Boise State defense that is the best in the Mountain West.
The Broncos shut Washington down last week holding the Huskies to 12 first downs and 179 total yards in a 16-13 win after leading 16-0 at halftime.
KEY STAT
53 – That’s the number of rushing attempts Boise State had last week while racking up 185 yards on the ground. More impressive was the defensive front holding the Huskies to 29 rushing yards on 22 attempts. That dominating rushing advantage usually translates into a 75 percent chance to cover, but Boise failed to cover the -13 line in a 16-13 win.
BETTING ANGLE
BYU is 0-5 ATS in its last five games versus Mountain West opponents and 2-6 ATS playing with revenge. The Cougars were 1-4 ATS in Provo last season.
BYU is a home underdog for just the second time in the last five years, and have won outright the last two times in that role.
Boise State is 4-1 ATS in its last five non-conference games and a perfect 4-0 ATS the last four times it retook the field after scoring 20 points or less.
The over is 8-2 in the Bronco’s last 10 games and 9-2 in the Cougars last 11.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The emotion of college football was evident in BYU’s last-second win last week and now the Cougars have to deal with the emotion of also losing their leader and star quarterback. Last season BYU lost four-straight games after Hill was lost for the season with another injury.
While they will be better prepared this season, it’s still a very tough task to see sustained success against this Boise State defense.
Tanner Mangum is older having served a two-year mission assignment, but he’s still making his first career start. Boise showed how strong it is in the trenches last week on both sides of the ball against a Pac-12 opponent, and the game was only close at the end due to special team’s miscues in the second half.
Credit BYU for hanging tough with Nebraska last week and then stealing the win as the total yards were nearly even at 445 before the Hail Mary. Neither team has an experienced quarterback who can dominate in the passing game, but the Broncos are more balanced and have the emotional edge despite BYU playing with redemption.
Boise State 27, BYU 20
BookMaker sent out the college football spread for this game at Boise State -2 with a total of 56.5. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, total and spread. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
Need to fund your account before the big game but don’t have your computer? No problem, BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The contest between the Boise State Broncos and BYU Cougars will take place Saturday, September 12, 2015, at 9:15 p.m. ET at Lavell Edwards Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
