Boise State vs. Utah State Spread Pick
Will the Utah State Aggies pull off a small upset tonight on the blue turf when they visit the Boise State Broncos at 10:15 p.m. ET? Or will the home team prevail in what should be one of the more underrated games on the week 13 college football slate?
Game Snapshot
181 Utah State Aggies at 182 Boise State Broncos
10:15 p.m. ET, Saturday, November 24, 2018
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Broncos are 2.5-point favorites to beat the Aggies. The total, meanwhile, sits at 66.5 points. As of this writing, 51% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Aggies.
Utah State Aggies
Draft Analyst’s Tony Pauline lists Utah State redshirt sophomore QB Jordan Love as a riser after his performance against Colorado State on Saturday. Love has been outstanding, and is a key reason — maybe the key reason — why the Aggies are 10-1 and ranked 14th in the country. “Love is a precise quarterback who protects the football; he’s completed 66.7% of his throws this season and has connected on 24 touchdown passes and thrown just four interceptions,” Pauline writes. “Love has outstanding size and next-level arm strength and has made terrific progress in his game.” While Pauline doesn’t project Love to enter the 2019 draft, his stock is obviously rising, and he’s certainly a name you need to monitor going forward.
Boise State Broncos
The Draft Network’s Benjamin Solak believes there’s a path for Boise State senior QB Brett Rypien to become the first quarterback taken in the 2019 NFL Draft. There are some things that have to go right, but all of these things are possible. Solak cautions first that Rypien isn’t there yet, and he has Justin Herbert, Will Grier and Dwayne Haskins ahead of him. Herbert could be headed back to school, and there’s no word yet if Haskins will enter. Rypien also will need an invite to the Senior Bowl — which seems likely — and he’ll have to “crush” — as Solak puts it — the interview and combine. If that happens, it’s certainly possible that Rypien could be the first quarterback taken — assuming teams sour on Grier and Drew Lock, of course.
Betting Trends
Utah State
The Aggies are 1-5 against the spread in their last six road games versus a team with a winning home record.
Boise State
The Broncos are 3-0-1 against the number in their last four conference games and are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Prediction
While the road team is 7-2-2 against the spread in the last 11 meetings between these two teams, the favorite is 8-3-2 at the betting window in the last 13 series matchups. The Aggies are also just 3-11-2 against the number in their last 16 games against the Broncos, who are hard to beat inside their home stadium (ask Fresno State). Boise State is 11-5 at the betting window in its last 16 home games versus a team with a winning road record while Utah State has failed to cover in 14 of its last 18 games when facing an opponent with a winning record. Love the Broncos in this spot.
College Football Prediction: Boise State Broncos -2.5