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Over the past two decades, two of the best non-power conferences have been the Boise State Broncos and the BYU Cougars. These two schools have continually fared very well against the blue bloods of college football, and both were expected to be solid yet again in 2017. However, both of these teams have been disappointments this season. BYU has one of the worst offenses in the nation, while Boise State has not impressed thus far. Each school is desperately in need of a win here.
Watch this regular season Week 6 matchup live on Friday, October 6, 2017, at 10:15 p.m. ET at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. This game will be broadcast on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Boise State -7
BYU +7
Odds Analysis
BYU has yet to cover a spread in 2017. The Cougars have a magnificent defense, but the offense has let them down time and time again. BYU is averaging just 12.6 PPG and those offensive woes have started to take their toll on this defense. The defense has been on the field way too much and simply looks worn out at this point. That has led to the Cougars allowing 40 points in each of its last two games.
For years, Boise State dominated its conference. The Broncos started the trend under Dan Hawkins in the WAC and continued it after they moved to the Mountain West. That has tailed off in recent years though, and Boise State no longer looks like the mid-major juggernaut it once was. This team is just 2-2 ATS.
Coaching Angle
Neither one of these coaches can feel particularly safe in their job right now. The feel-good story that was Bryan Harsin’s return to Boise has fallen to ashes and people in Boise are getting restless. Harsin has won at least nine games in every year, but has just one MWC title in three years, and has lost five conference games in the last two seasons. More importantly, this offense has not taken off despite Harsin being heralded as an offensive genius. His seat isn’t particularly hot right now, but he should be somewhat uneasy.
The same cannot be said for Kalani Sitake. Sitake replaced Bronco Mendenhall as the head coach at BYU after Mendenhall left for Virginia after 2015. He had a solid first season in charge of the Cougars, posting a 9-4 record, but everything has fallen apart in his second year. The offense is horrendous and the defense is falling apart now too. Sitake will have to make some big changes at the end of this season.
Key Injuries
BYU will likely be turning to a Detmer to line up under center in this game. Tanner Mangum entered the season as BYU’s starting quarterback, but injured his ankle in the Cougars loss to Wisconsin. Sitake has not commented on his status for the game against Boise State, but it’s safe to assume that Mangum won’t play against a very talented defense.
Beau Hoge started against Utah State, but he too got injured. Hoge’s injury opened the door for Koy Detmer Jr., who finished the game at quarterback. No one knows how healthy Hoge is either.
Boise State has dealt with quarterback injuries too. Brett Rypien was concussed in the Broncos game against New Mexico and didn’t look like the same quarterback against Virginia last week. He failed to throw a touchdown pass and locked in on Cedrick Wilson all game long. Rypien should be better this week, but expect to see a healthy dose of Montell Cozart too.
Free ATS Pick
The total is going to be very low in this game. Neither team has been impressive on offense and both defenses are good. Boise State doesn’t have the number of issues that BYU has on the offensive end though and the Broncos will be able to pull out a win and cover.
College Football Odds: Boise State 24, BYU 13
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