The Washington State Cougars seem to be making this a habit. For the second year in a row, the team lost its season opener to a team it should have won big against. Last year it was Portland State who stole the victory in early September and last week the Cougars fell to Eastern Washington, 45-40.
There is no doubt Washington State fans are angry and the players should be too. There is no excuse for a loss like that for a team like Washington State. The Cougars will be eager to turn it around this week, taking on the Boise State Broncos on the road in Week 2.
However, Boise State has much more talent than Washington State just played against and it will be hard to pull off the upset.
Watch this regular season Week 2 matchup live on Saturday, September 10, 2016, at 10:15 p.m. ET at Albertsons Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Washington State +11
Boise State -11
Over/Under 72.5
Odds Analysis
The spread seems to be well-placed, as 52 percent of the money is going to Boise State at -115. The wager that the bettors have really pinpointed is the scoring total. There is an extremely uneven split as 96 percent of the bets have come in on the “over.”
While this one was already destined to be a shootout, almost every gambler sees it going higher than the oddsmakers pegged. This could particularly be the case if Washington State falls behind early, as it will be bombs away the rest of the night as it plays catch-up.
Key Stat
Nine. That’s the number of wins Washington State had a season ago despite losing the shocker to Portland State. The Cougars finished 6-3 in the Pac-12 and knocked off teams like Oregon and UCLA to get nationally ranked near the end of the season.
Washington State would love to follow that path this year, and pulling the upset of Boise State would certainly be a great first step. It will be interesting to see how the team reacts, and the experience of going through this in 2015 has to be considered a good thing.
Some players might already be throwing in the towel in other situations, but coach Mike Leach can easily illustrate how the team can learn from this and turn it around.
Player to Watch
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk. The junior took over full-time last season and threw for 4,561 yards with 38 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.
He built on that in the opener, completing 41-of-51 passes for 418 yards with four touchdowns and only one interception in the loss to Eastern Washington.
The Cougars are double-digit road underdogs, and the best way to stay in this game is to get an outstanding performance from their excellent signal-caller.
Free ATS Pick
While the Cougars’ offense gets the headlines, often it is the defense which decides how successful the team will end up in a given year. Last week’s loss was discouraging, as it is not a good sign to give up 45 points to an inferior opponent.
Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien threw for 347 yards with two touchdowns in the Broncos’ season-opening win against Louisiana Lafayette in his game. He linked up with receivers Thomas Sperbeck and Cedrick Wilson on 13 different passes and may be able to pick apart the Washington State secondary.
The Broncos’ offense rolled in their opener, and won’t be seeing any uptick in talent even though Washington State is in the Pac-12. This should be a wild one, but Boise State has the firepower to come away with the win. The “over” seems like a good bet as well as the ball will be flying around the field.
College Football Odds: Boise State 39, Washington State 35
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