MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
 |
vs.
|
 |
Utah (10-2, 7-1) versus Boise State (11-1, 7-1)
Wednesday, Dec. 22, 8:00 PM ET ESPN
Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV.
Boise State favored by 17, over/under 60 ½.
If not for a couple of missed field goals, the No.10 Boise Broncos would have closed out its season with its second consecutive BCS Bowl appearance, but instead has been left to battle the 20th-ranked Utah Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl on Wednesday night.
After going undefeated last season and beating TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, Boise State were on track to do so again until they fell to then-No.19 Nevada 34-31 on Nov. 26. The Broncos blew a 24-7 half time lead.
Quarterback Kellen Moore, who made it to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation and should be one of the favorites to win it next season, completed an astounding 71 percent of his passes for 3,506 yards with 33 touchdowns and just five interceptions on the season.
That could be a problem for Utah who is surrendering 215.5 yards per game though the air. They will certainly have their hands full with the receiving duo of Titus Young who caught 65 passes for 1,151 yards and nine touchdowns while Austin Pettis also had a big year grabbing 59 passes for 804 yards and nine scores on the year.
However, if the Utes focus too much attention Kellen, they are likely to be torched by the Broncos potent ground assault led by Doug Martin with 1,113 yards and 11 touchdowns, andJeremy Avery who clipped off 440 yards and added another 11 touchdowns on the season.
The Utes have surrendered just 104.5 yards on the ground, so it should be interesting to see how they respond to the BSU running game. For the season, the Utah defense has allowed 19.8 points and 319.7 yards per game.
Meanwhile, Utah, who opened 8-0 and rose to as high as No. 6 in the AP poll, saw its BCS Bowl hopes shattered with back-to-back losses to TCU and Notre Dame. Nevertheless, the Utes rebounded with two straight wins en route to a third consecutive bowl appearance.
Now quarterback Terrance Cain who came in completing two passes and throwing two interceptions on just seven attempts in the game against BYU will again replace injured starter Jordan Wynn who passed for 2,334 yards with 17 TDs and 10 INTs in 10 games for Utah this season.
Cain will have to face a stingy Boise State defense who has been strong all year allowing over 20 points just twice, while allowing 13.6 points and 259.3 yards per game — both fourth in the country — and 155.8 yards passing, third-lowest in the FBS.
The Utes will need Eddie Wide (706 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Matt Asiata (680, eight) to get things going early on without Wynn in the lineup if they don’t want to be blown out by the half.
The Utes have won nine straight bowl games — the first two victories in that streak coming in the Las Vegas Bowl in 1999 and 2001.
With Wynn out, it surely deminshes the Utes chances in this one. With that question mark and the Broncos big defense, I expect BSU to take this. However, the over/under seems high, and while Boise is known for putting up big numbers, it hasn’t been the case in their last two bowl appearances.
MATT’S PREDICTION – Boise State 28, Utah17
The odds makers have the Boise State Broncos as a -17 point favorite with an over/under of 60.5.
Utah Utes Betting Trends:
- Utah is 10-4-1 ATS in its last 15 games
- Utah is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- Utah is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games
Boise State Broncos Betting Trends:
- Boise State is 24-1 SU in its last 25 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boise State’s last 5 games
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.