The poor Virginia Cavaliers have already had to deal with UCLA and Notre Dame this season, and they were lucky to escape against William & Mary last week. Now, they get what might be the best team in the Group of 5, the Boise State Broncos on the national spotlight of Friday Night Football on ESPN.
WHEN THE BOISE STATE BRONCOS HAVE THE BALL
The Broncos' offense hasn't been stellar in 2015 thus far against legitimate opponents, scoring just 16 and 24 points in games against Washington and BYU. Forget about that 52-0 romp of Idaho State. This is a far different challenge, and we think it's one that they legitimately could not pass even though they are an unlucky team not to be 3-0.
Now, Boise State is going to have to begin life without Ryan Finley, who is going to miss at least the next eight weeks or so injured.
The real key here for live bettors is the fact that the Broncos go long stretches of time without scoring points. They went the whole second half without finding a single point to put on the board against Washington, and they didn't score a point in the final 17+ minutes of their game against BYU either.
That's a scary sign for live bettors. It means that, even from ahead, Boise State can't close out games.
You don't need to be a brain surgeon to figure out why the Broncos are having issues. They've rushed the ball 92 times in two games against FBS foes, a number which one should be proud of for keeping balance. What they shouldn't be proud of? Just 257 rushing yards on those 92 carries, an average of just 2.79 yards per rushing attempt.
If the Cavaliers, who have been good against the run for the most part this season, can put the clamps on the Boise State ground attack, they're going to have a legitimate chance to make a comeback if they fall behind, which should be music to live bettors' ears, especially in a primetime game where live bettors will react a ton to what they just saw instead of thinking the whole situation through. Opportunity is abound for sure.
WHEN THE VIRGINIA CAVALIERS HAVE THE BALL
Boise State has done a solid job this year forcing teams into third downs, averaging 17.3 per game. That's a huge number the likes of which UVA has to stay away from. Many more than about 12-13 third downs faced is probably going to spell disaster for the Cavvies, especially knowing that they have been poor in their own right on third downs this year.
The Hoos averaged just 112.5 rushing yards per game in legitimate FBS games against UCLA and Notre Dame, and they were good for just 3.60 yards per rush.
If Boise State's senior defensive leaders along the defensive line, Tyler Horn, Justin Taimatuia and Armand Nance can continue to take advantage of the UVA offensive line to stuff up that ground game, the Cavaliers are in a lot of trouble, something live bettors should be paying really close attention to.
TREND TO TRACK
The Cavaliers have really embraced this underdog role of late. Not only are they 1-0-1 ATS in their two games this season as dogs, but they are now 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games as pups overall. Granted, they're just 1-3 SU in those games, but they also were at least 13.5-point dogs in all three of the defeats.
BookMaker opened the spread for this Friday game before anyone else on the internet. The Boise State Broncos opened at -1.5. In-game spreads, totals, moneylines and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker's new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! The battle between the Boise State Broncos and the Virginia Cavaliers will kick off Friday, September 25, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. ET at Scott Stadium. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
