The hometown fans won’t be able to cheer on Boise State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl this year, but the stands should still be packed as a fan base that travels very well comes to town. It’s been an up and down year for the BYU Cougars, but they are glad to get back to a bowl game. Kalani Sitake had a disastrous second season after a strong start and making it back to the postseason will take some pressure off. A win over the Western Michigan Broncos would help matters too, and BYU is a heavy favorite on the CFB betting line to get to 7-6.
BookMaker is the only place to bet all 41 college football bowl games this season. BookMaker has the best lines for bettors, and your stocking might be a little bit fuller if you play here. The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will take place on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 4 p.m. ET at Albertson’s Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
NCAA Football Betting at BookMaker.eu
BYU -12
Western Michigan +12
Total 50
Odds Analysis
Western Michigan has one of the worst bowl records in college football. The Broncos are 1-7 all-time with their only win coming against Middle Tennessee State in the Bahamas Bowl, and they know they are up against it here. Star quarterback Jon Wassink suffered a major foot injury at the end of October, and freshman Kaleb Eleby has been the team’s signal caller the last month. He got off to a rocky start, but he performed much better the final two games of the year, leading the Broncos to 41 points against Ball State and 28 points against Northern Illinois.
Following road wins over Arizona and Wisconsin, BYU entered the AP Top 25 rankings and rose all the way to No. 20 after a 3-1 start. However, the Cougars came crashing down to Earth with consecutive blowout losses to Washington and Utah State and treaded water the rest of the year. Losing to both in-state schools stings, and the offense looked toothless over the last half of the season.
Matchup to Watch
BYU will look to run the ball on Western Michigan and take the pressure off Zach Wilson. Wilson has looked much better under center than Tanner Mangum, but he is still young and Sitake has not taken too many risks with him. He has yet to throw more than 30 passes in a game, and that will hold if all goes according to plan here.
Moving the ball on the ground has been a struggle for the Cougars this year, but they should be able to have success against Western Michigan. The Broncos have really struggled to stop opponents all year, and they have the 106th ranked defense according to S&P+.
Player to Watch
Eleby will need to be able to beat BYU through the air because the Cougars are very good at stopping the run. He has shown that he can find open receivers when he has time, but that may be lacking against the Cougars. His offensive line is not good, and BYU’s front seven should be able to apply a lot of pressure throughout the day. If that happens, he could get flustered and make mistakes.
Live Betting Preview
This is one of those lines that really jumps out at you. It doesn’t feel like BYU should be favored by double digits against any bowl team considering how this offense has looked at times, yet they are sizable favorites in this one.
That’s because this is a really bad matchup for Western Michigan. The Broncos are probably going to have a hard time stopping the run, and Eleby will not have a fun time trying to throw on this defense. I see BYU covering here.
NCAA Football Odds: BYU 30, Western Michigan 13
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