Wyoming vs. New Mexico State Pick
The second game of Saturday night’s college football doubleheader features a new-look Wyoming team taking on New Mexico State at 10:00 p.m. ET. Will the Aggies pull off the small upset as a home underdog tonight against the Cowboys?
Game Snapshot
291 Wyoming Cowboys at 292 New Mexico State Aggies
10:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, August 25, 2018
Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Cowboys are 4-point favorites to beat the Aggies. The total, meanwhile, sits at 44.5 points. As of this writing, 70% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Cowboys.
Wyoming Cowboys
Wyoming redshirt freshman QB Tyler Vander Waal will start the season opener against New Mexico State on Saturday. Not a big surprise here, and Vander Waal was the favorite since putting together a strong spring practice, and he was considered the front-runner before that occurred, as well. At 6-foot-4, 220-pounds, Vander Waal has quality size, and he gets solid marks for his arm strength, too. It pales in comparison to who he’s replacing — first-round pick Josh Allen — but Vander Waal has the talent to be a solid replacement as the Cowboys look to compete for the MWC Mountain.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State named junior QB Matt Romero starter for Saturday’s game against Wyoming. While redshirt senior Nick Jeanty has played on and off throughout his career with the Aggies, HC Doug Martin will instead be turning to JUCO transfer Romero to open the upcoming campaign. Given that Jeanty has struggled when given any sort of a significant amount of playing time, it’s not a huge surprise that the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Romero was able to beat him out in camp.
Betting Trends
Wyoming
The Cowboys are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games overall.
New Mexico State
The Aggies are 5-0 against the number in their last five games versus MWC opponents.
Prediction
This is as big as it gets for New Mexico State. The game is being aired on ESPN2 and with the school in the spotlight, the university sold tickets as low as $3 in efforts to make the stadium look as packed as possible. Seeing as how both teams are starting new quarterbacks, I see some value in the home underdog. The point spread dropped from 5.5 down to 4 despite the majority of the betting tickets being on the road favorite. I’m taking the points.
College Football Prediction: New Mexico State Aggies +4