College
Football Preview: Washington Huskies vs Boise State Broncos
Written
By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)
When: 10:15 PM ET, Friday,
September 4, 2015
Where: Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho
Televised: ESPN
Where: Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho
Televised: ESPN
Odds:
The line opened up at Boise State -11 and has been bet up slightly
to minus 12. The OU line opened at 63.5 and has been bet down drastically to
57.
Washington was a very mediocre 8-6 last year, with their
season ending on a 30-22 loss to Oklahoma State in the Cactus Bowl. Duplicating
those 8 wins from last year will be very difficult for this team as they lost a
ton of talent from that team. This year Washington has just 9 starters back and
rates as 107th most experienced team in the nation. That is not good when
trying to compete in this very tough conference. The offense has just 5
starters back and must replace QB Cyler Miles, who took a leave of absence. The
new DB looks to be Jeff Lindquist and he does have the top two backs and top 4
pass catches back from last year, but still the RB corps rates as 8th in the
league, while the WR corps is 11th. This team is really lacking at the skill
position, but they are lacking even on the OL, which is rated as the worst in
the league with just 1 starter back and little depth. Defensively they were
solid last year, allowing just 24.8 ppg, but repeating that will not be easy
with just 4 starters back and with losing 5 of their top 6 tacklers from a year
ago. The recruiting class was decent and
Petersen is starting to get his players in her, but still this team will
struggle to make it back to a bowl game this year.
The Boise State Broncos bounced back from a mediocre 2013,
in which they went just 8-5, to go 12-2 last year, which included a thrilling
38-30 win over Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl. This year’s team is loaded again and
they have their sights se a bit higher and that is to run the table and make it
to the NCAA Playoffs. I feel that even if they go 12-0, the committee would take
a 1 loss SEC team over them. Not fair, but that’s how it goes. The Broncos lose
QB Grant Hendrick, but the system they run here allows just about any QB to be
successful. That new QB is Ryan Finley and he has plenty of weapons to throw to
as their top 2 WWRs and 7 of their top 9 pass catchers from last year are all
back. The bigger loss on this offense may by RB Ajayi, who ran for 1823 yards
and 28 TDs last year. The do have good talent at that position and the running
game will set up behind the best OL in the league and 22nd best in the nation.
Defense is usually an afterthought when thinking about this team, but with 23
lettermen, including 8 that are starters back on this side of the ball, this
has the makings of a very good defense. This is the top rated defense in the
MWC. Boise will have a big year, but still they will need a little luck to get
a playoff invite.
I will be going with a very determined Boise State squad in
this game. This is one loaded team and they have the best chance of the
non-Power 5 conferences t make it in the playoffs, but they must win games like
this vs the Pac-12 and they must win convincingly. I feel they can do it,
especially vs a Washington team that has lost so much from last year and bring
back just 9 starters. This is a homecoming for Washington HC Petersen, but it
will not be a happy one as his old team will look to put a hurtin’ on the
Huskies, who are just outmatched in this game. Boise is the 49th most
experienced team in the nation, while Washington is 107th. Boise is 0-3 ATS the
last 3 in this series, but they are the more experienced team here, they have
much more to play for and they are at home where they are very tough to beat.
Boise by at least 17 in this one.
Play (160) Boise State -13 over Washington
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