Iowa St. vs. Boise St.
Iowa St. vs. Boise St.
Leaning towards Boise St. in the Humanitarian Bowl myself.
That blue turf and the weather can wreak havoc on visiting teams. Boise has TWO very capable QB's and the nation's scoring leader Brock Forsey. Iowa St. has an "O" that overly relies on playmaker Seneca Wallace (who had thrown 4 more INT's than TD's!).
Boise AVERAGES 46.6 PTS PER GAME and put up 58 vs. the WAC's #1 defense Hawaii. At home BSU has scored no fewer than 36 pts. All of their victories were decided with comfortable margins. In other words, when Boise wins they demolish their opponents. Only when they went to Fayetteville early in the season were they losers, humbled by Arkansas' running game (which amassed 217 yards). It also didn't help that BSU fumbled 6 times!
In their last 6 games BSU's defense has stepped up, giving up an average of 7 POINTS PER GAME! Meanwhile, ISU has sputtered down the stretch. In their last several games the Cyclones have ALLOWED 40 POINTS PER GAME, while their offense could only barely score over an avg of 18 points! With the exception of their tough road win over intrastate rival Iowa, ISU is winless on the road, losing by an average of 12-42!
In the end, a double digit spread might seem like a "gift" for dog players, given that both defenses have had trouble stopping their opponents. But BSU is playing at home--on the frozen blue tundra--and their defense has shown quite an improvement. To beat them you have to run the ball down their throats and keep Boise's offense off the field (like a Colorado or K-State in the Big 12). Iowa St. is middle of the pack rushing-wise in the Big 12, and Seneca Wallace accounts for 1/5 of their yardage on the ground. Meanwhile, Brock Forsey has as much rushing yards as the entire ISU team, minus Wallace.
