Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Prediction
On Friday afternoon the Western Michigan Broncos will take on the BYU Cougars at 4:00 p.m. ET in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Laying double-digits, are the Cougars a safe play for bettors or is the spread too high?
Game Snapshot
220 Western Michigan Broncos vs. 219 BYU Cougars
4:00 p.m. ET, Friday, December 21, 2018
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Cougars are 12.5-point favorites to beat the Broncos. The total, meanwhile, sits at 49.5 points. As of this writing, 54% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Broncos.
Western Michigan Broncos
Western Michigan freshman QB Kaleb Eleby completed 19-of-35 passes for 285 yards in a 28-21 victory over Northern Illinois on Tuesday. Eleby had issues with accuracy, but he was able to get the football downfield on Tuesday, particularly to D’Wayne Eskridge. Eleby has now played in four games, so the Broncos will need to do decide if they want to have him redshirt the season — you can only play in four and still get that extra year — or have him start the Broncos’ bowl game.
BYU Cougars
BYU freshman QB Zachary Wilson completed 20-of-29 passes for 204 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in Saturday’s 35-27 loss to Utah. Wilson nearly led BYU to a road win over No. 17 Utah, but the Utes were able to score four second-half touchdowns to walk away with a win. Wilson not only threw the ball well, but the freshman was also the leading rusher tonight with 73 yards on 14 carries. After tonight’s game, Wilson has 10 total touchdowns with just three INTs on the season across eight game appearances.
Betting Trends
Western Michigan
The over is 4-0 in the Broncos’ last four games overall.
BYU
The under is 24-9 in the Cougars’ last 33 games overall and is 7-3 in their last 10 neutral site games.
Prediction
The Broncos raced out to a 6-2 start to the season but collapsed to a 1-3 record down the stretch after quarterback Joe Wassink tore ligaments in his right ankle and was lost for the season. Backup Kaleb Eleby could struggle to move the ball versus a BYU defense that ranks 29th in the nation in points allowed, surrendering just 28 per game. The Cougars are a ball-control offense that doesn’t score a ton but they might not need to in order to win today and cover. I see the Cougars holding the Broncos to 14 points or fewer and covering in a low-scoring game.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Prediction: BYU Cougars -12.5