College Football Betting: Boise State at BYU

A battle between two of the top college football programs in the Intermountain West is the highlight of the Friday night betting card as Boise State University makes the trip down to Provo, Utah to take on the BYU Cougars. It wasn’t long ago that BYU was the undisputed ‘top dog’ in the area but they’ve since been surpassed by Boise State. The Cougars have a chance to get some of their ‘swagger’ back tonight as they catch the Broncos in a down year. BYU has been somewhat erratic themselves–their defense looked pitiful at Houston last week and that’s usually the team’s biggest strength–but back on their home field at Lavell Edwards Stadium they’re going to be a tough opponent.

Despite their substandard performance last week BYU’s big, physical defense will be the best unit on the field tonight. BYU’s offense has sputtered at times this season but don’t be surprised if they put up impressive numbers for the rest of the season. They’ve recently welcomed a number of their top playmakers back to the lineup. Running back Jamaal Williams and wide receiver Cody Hoffman are back in the lineup after injury and suspension issues. Obviously Boise State won’t have significant issues with altitude but they’re just not as formidable a team away from their infamous blue ‘Smurf Turf’.

Another problem for the Broncos–they lost starting quarterback Joe Southwick to injury last week and while Grant Hedrick is a competent backup there’s always a bit of a ‘learning curve’ when a new quarterback takes over. Boise State was at one point among the best pointspread teams in college football but they’ve long since lost their value. They’ve struggled especially in games against opponents with winning records–they’re on a 2-6 ATS run against opponents with a .500 or better record. BYU has taken care of business against Mountain West foes, covering five straight. This game means more to the Cougars and you can make a compelling case that last week’s effort at Houston was a classic ‘lookahead’ spot. BYU takes care of business here and reasserts their standing as one of the elite college football programs in the Mountain Time Zone.

BET BYU -7 OVER BOISE STATE