Nevada at Boise St.
November 27, 2009
When Nevada (8-3 straight up, 6-5 against the spread) went into South Bend and got slammed 35-0 in its season opener at Notre Dame, it appeared crystal clear that Chris Ault?s program wasn?t quite ready to compete with the big boys. That notion was further evidenced in losses at Colorado St. (35-20) and vs. Missouri (31-21) in Weeks 3 and 4, respectively.
But since then, the Wolf Pack has won eight in a row and posted a 6-2 spread record in the process. Ault?s pistol offense led by junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick has produced the following scoring outputs during the eight-game surge: 63, 37, 35, 70, 31, 62, 52 and 63.
However, the question of whether or not Nevada can compete with the nation?s best remains iffy. The Wolf Pack will have the chance to show they can Friday night on the smurf turf in Boise.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Boise State (11-0 SU, 8-2 ATS) as a 10 ?-point favorite with a total of 74. As of early this afternoon, most sports books had the Broncos favored by 13 1/2 with the total in the 70-71 range. The Wolf Pack are plus-400 on the money line (risk $100 to win $400).
Chris Petersen?s team has won 23 of its last 24 games, including last week?s 52-21 win at Utah St. as a 22-point road favorite. Sophomore running back Doug Martin was the catalyst, rushing 13 times for 122 yards and four touchdowns. Jeremy Avery added 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
Kellen Moore completed 15-of-29 passes for 233 yards and one TD without an interception. Titus Young had five receptions for 102 yards, while Austin Pettis had four catches for 69 yards.
Moore is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender, producing monster numbers in his sophomore campaign. He has connected on 66.3 percent of his passes for 2,791 yards with an incredible 33/3 touchdown-interception ratio.
Pettis leads the country (along with Bowling Green?s Freddie Barnes) in touchdown catches with 14. He has a team-high 62 receptions for 850 yards, while Young has 60 catches for 808 yards and nine TDs.
Avery has 1,008 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He averages 6.0 yards per carry. Martin has rushed for 512 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 YPC.
Nevada is coming off a 63-20 win at New Mexico State as a 30 ?-point favorite. The Wolf Pack rushed for 581 yards and had 677 yards of total offense. Kaepernick ran for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns, in addition to throwing two TD passes without an interception.
Luke Lippincott ran for 162 yards and two TDs on 19 carries, while Vai Taua had 126 rushing yards and one touchdown on just 13 totes.
For the season, Taua has rushed for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns on 148 carries for a 8.0 YPC average. Kaepernick needs just one rushing yard against the Broncos to eclipse his rushing tally (1,130 yards) of 2008. The veteran signal caller has 16 rushing TDs and averages 8.6 YPC.
After missing most of last season with a knee injury and given a sixth year of eligibility, Lippincott has rushed for 1,028 yards and nine TDs. He?s averaging 7.7 YPC. Lippincott also has a pair of TD catches to his credit, as does Taua.
BSU is 4-0 ATS in four lined home games this year. The Broncos have been dominant each time out, starting with a 19-8 win over Oregon in the season opener that wasn?t nearly as close as the final score indicated. In Week 2, they destroyed Miami (OH.) 48-0 as 40-point favorites.
BSU crushed Idaho 63-25 as a 31 ?-point home ?chalk? in its last game on the blue carpet. Two weeks before that, Petersen?s squad stroked San Jose St. by a 45-7 count as a 36-point favorite.
Nevada has let down its backers in both previous underdogs situations. As we mentioned, Notre Dame clobbered the Wolf Pack 35-0 as a 14-point home favorite. In Week 4, Missouri won a 31-21 decision at Nevada as an eight-point road ?chalk.?
During Ault?s second tour of duty at Nevada that dates back to 2004, the Wolf Pack are an abysmal 5-11 ATS.
BSU has won nine in a row over the Wolf Pack, cashing tickets at an 8-1 ATS clip during that stretch. The lone cover for Nevada came in its last trip when it lost 69-67 in four overtimes. (To be exactly accurate, Nevada?s last trip to Bronco Stadium was for last year?s Humanitarian Bowl in which it lost 42-35 to Maryland.)
The winner will take the WAC?s regular-season crown. A loss for Boise would eliminate it from BCS consideration, while a win would pad its resume to get a BCS invite. ESPN2 will provide television coverage at 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.
--Boise St. owns a 14-5-1 spread record in 20 lined home games on Petersen?s watch.
--As of early this afternoon, FSU was a 24 ?-point road underdog for Satuday?s game at Florida. This is the second-richest underdog spot for the Seminoles since Bobby Bowden took over the program in 1976. That same year, FSU was a 26-point underdog against Oklahoma.
--Missouri is a 3 ?-point favorite for Saturday?s game against Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Tigers have been single-digit favorites three times this year, taking the cash in each instance.
--So. Miss owns a 7-1 spread record in its last eight head-to-head meetings against East Carolina, which is listed as a six-point home favorite for Saturday?s C-USA showdown against the Golden Eagles. Since QB Austin Davis went down with a season-ending knee injury, junior QB Martevious Young has stepped in and played brilliantly, producing a 12/1 TD-INT ratio.
November 27, 2009
When Nevada (8-3 straight up, 6-5 against the spread) went into South Bend and got slammed 35-0 in its season opener at Notre Dame, it appeared crystal clear that Chris Ault?s program wasn?t quite ready to compete with the big boys. That notion was further evidenced in losses at Colorado St. (35-20) and vs. Missouri (31-21) in Weeks 3 and 4, respectively.
But since then, the Wolf Pack has won eight in a row and posted a 6-2 spread record in the process. Ault?s pistol offense led by junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick has produced the following scoring outputs during the eight-game surge: 63, 37, 35, 70, 31, 62, 52 and 63.
However, the question of whether or not Nevada can compete with the nation?s best remains iffy. The Wolf Pack will have the chance to show they can Friday night on the smurf turf in Boise.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Boise State (11-0 SU, 8-2 ATS) as a 10 ?-point favorite with a total of 74. As of early this afternoon, most sports books had the Broncos favored by 13 1/2 with the total in the 70-71 range. The Wolf Pack are plus-400 on the money line (risk $100 to win $400).
Chris Petersen?s team has won 23 of its last 24 games, including last week?s 52-21 win at Utah St. as a 22-point road favorite. Sophomore running back Doug Martin was the catalyst, rushing 13 times for 122 yards and four touchdowns. Jeremy Avery added 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
Kellen Moore completed 15-of-29 passes for 233 yards and one TD without an interception. Titus Young had five receptions for 102 yards, while Austin Pettis had four catches for 69 yards.
Moore is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender, producing monster numbers in his sophomore campaign. He has connected on 66.3 percent of his passes for 2,791 yards with an incredible 33/3 touchdown-interception ratio.
Pettis leads the country (along with Bowling Green?s Freddie Barnes) in touchdown catches with 14. He has a team-high 62 receptions for 850 yards, while Young has 60 catches for 808 yards and nine TDs.
Avery has 1,008 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He averages 6.0 yards per carry. Martin has rushed for 512 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 YPC.
Nevada is coming off a 63-20 win at New Mexico State as a 30 ?-point favorite. The Wolf Pack rushed for 581 yards and had 677 yards of total offense. Kaepernick ran for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns, in addition to throwing two TD passes without an interception.
Luke Lippincott ran for 162 yards and two TDs on 19 carries, while Vai Taua had 126 rushing yards and one touchdown on just 13 totes.
For the season, Taua has rushed for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns on 148 carries for a 8.0 YPC average. Kaepernick needs just one rushing yard against the Broncos to eclipse his rushing tally (1,130 yards) of 2008. The veteran signal caller has 16 rushing TDs and averages 8.6 YPC.
After missing most of last season with a knee injury and given a sixth year of eligibility, Lippincott has rushed for 1,028 yards and nine TDs. He?s averaging 7.7 YPC. Lippincott also has a pair of TD catches to his credit, as does Taua.
BSU is 4-0 ATS in four lined home games this year. The Broncos have been dominant each time out, starting with a 19-8 win over Oregon in the season opener that wasn?t nearly as close as the final score indicated. In Week 2, they destroyed Miami (OH.) 48-0 as 40-point favorites.
BSU crushed Idaho 63-25 as a 31 ?-point home ?chalk? in its last game on the blue carpet. Two weeks before that, Petersen?s squad stroked San Jose St. by a 45-7 count as a 36-point favorite.
Nevada has let down its backers in both previous underdogs situations. As we mentioned, Notre Dame clobbered the Wolf Pack 35-0 as a 14-point home favorite. In Week 4, Missouri won a 31-21 decision at Nevada as an eight-point road ?chalk.?
During Ault?s second tour of duty at Nevada that dates back to 2004, the Wolf Pack are an abysmal 5-11 ATS.
BSU has won nine in a row over the Wolf Pack, cashing tickets at an 8-1 ATS clip during that stretch. The lone cover for Nevada came in its last trip when it lost 69-67 in four overtimes. (To be exactly accurate, Nevada?s last trip to Bronco Stadium was for last year?s Humanitarian Bowl in which it lost 42-35 to Maryland.)
The winner will take the WAC?s regular-season crown. A loss for Boise would eliminate it from BCS consideration, while a win would pad its resume to get a BCS invite. ESPN2 will provide television coverage at 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.
--Boise St. owns a 14-5-1 spread record in 20 lined home games on Petersen?s watch.
--As of early this afternoon, FSU was a 24 ?-point road underdog for Satuday?s game at Florida. This is the second-richest underdog spot for the Seminoles since Bobby Bowden took over the program in 1976. That same year, FSU was a 26-point underdog against Oklahoma.
--Missouri is a 3 ?-point favorite for Saturday?s game against Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Tigers have been single-digit favorites three times this year, taking the cash in each instance.
--So. Miss owns a 7-1 spread record in its last eight head-to-head meetings against East Carolina, which is listed as a six-point home favorite for Saturday?s C-USA showdown against the Golden Eagles. Since QB Austin Davis went down with a season-ending knee injury, junior QB Martevious Young has stepped in and played brilliantly, producing a 12/1 TD-INT ratio.
