Boise State vs. Fresno State Spread Pick
The surging Fresno State Bulldogs and the hot Boise State Broncos will clash in a critical Mountain West showdown on Friday night at 10:15 p.m. ET. With the Bulldogs laying nearly a field goal as a road favorite, is there value in the home dog tonight?
Game Snapshot
113 Fresno State Bulldogs at 114 Boise State Broncos
10:15 p.m. ET, Friday, November 9, 2018
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Bulldogs are 2.5-point favorites to beat the Broncos. The total, meanwhile, sits at 55.5 points. As of this writing, 56% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Bulldogs.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State senior QB Marcus McMaryion completed 26-of-35 passes for 274 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Saturday’s 48-3 rout of UNLV on the road. McMaryion also chipped in with 39 yards on seven totes, as the Bulldogs continue to be the class of the Mountain West Conference and might be a challenger from the Group of Five. They debuted No. 23 in the initial CFP poll this past week. The Bulldogs can add a feather to their cap and build their resume with a road victory at Boise State next Friday night.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State senior QB Brett Rypien completed 23-of-35 passes for 214 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Saturday’s 21-16 win against BYU. It was just the second time this season Rypien failed to record at least two touchdown passes in his nine starts. He took a step back after posting a season-best 399 yards and five touchdowns last weekend at Air Force. He’ll need to turn in a much better outing if the Broncos are going to upend the top-25 Fresno State Bulldogs on the Smurf Turf on Friday night.
Betting Trends
Fresno State
The Bulldogs are 25-4-1 against the spread in their last 30 games overall and are 13-2-1 against the number in their last 16 road games.
Boise State
The Broncos are just 1-3-1 against the spread in their last five games overall and are 5-15 against the number in their last 20 home games.
Prediction
Jeff Tedford could find himself coaching back in the Power 5 following yet another successful season at Fresno State. The Bulldogs went 10-4 last season and are 8-1 in their second season under Tedford’s tutelage. Fresno is 18-3-2 against the spread with Tedford in charge. The Bulldogs have an outstanding quarterback in Marcus McMaryion, who has completed 71-percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions. The Bulldogs are also 7-0 in Mountain West road games if you don’t count the 17-14 loss at Boise State last year in the conference championship game. While it’s always difficult to win on the blue turf, Boise State is banged-up on defense and can’t run the ball. I love laying a small number in this spot.
College Football Prediction: Fresno State Bulldogs -2.5