NCAA Football
2009-09-18 - Boise State at Fresno State
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
NCAA : Football 2009
Friday, 18th September 2009 - Kickoff 9pm ET (1am GMT)
(#10) Boise State
Boise State play their first road game this season when they travel to WAC opponents Fresno State for Friday night football.
After beginning this years season at #14 Boise have quickly moved to #10 after defeating nationally-ranked Oregon in the opener 19-8, and then thumping Miami-Ohio 48-0 to rack up their 51st consecutive regular season home win.
QB Kellen Moore threw for 307 yards and 4 TDs, while the running game accounted for another 3. Moore was picked off once, but it was still a fantastic display from last years WAC Freshman of the Year.
On defence, BSU allowed Miami-Ohio a mere 194 yards of total offence and intercepted their QB 4 times, with one sack. The pressure brought by the Boise defence is heavy and effective when it needs to be, as seen in the opener against Oregon, and Fresno will turn the ball over a fair few times on that evidence.
Last year, the BSU defence topped the WAC and was 3rd in the nation with just 12.6 ppg allowed and this year the team is off to an even better start, allowing only 4.0 ppg in the first two games.
Fresno State
After destroying UC Davis in an easy opener 51-0, Fresno came crashing back to earth when they lost at Wisconsin 34-31 in double overtime.
QB Ryan Colburn converted 22-of-36 passes for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he was sacked twice and had 3 passes intercepted, the last coming in the second overtime period which gave Wisconsin the win.
Last season Fresno had a serious problem with turnovers. In 2008 they ranked eighth in the WAC and 107th in the nation with a turnover margin of -0.85 per game and after two games they are already down at -2.0 per game.
Colburn is still a junior and learning, so although he has so far completed 60% of his passes for 450 yards and five TDs, those four picks are going to mess with his head and keep him from taking chances when they present themselves down the field against Boise.
Head to Head
Boise State boasts a 7-4 record against Fresno, and is 6-1 when the game is on national television. Boise have also won the last 3 games on the trot, the last of which was a 61-10 thumping of Fresno in last year's regular-season finale.
THe Betting Verdict
This Boise State team has picked up right where it left off last year and I expect to see them thump Fresno again by at least 2, if not 3 touchdowns as they try and go undefeated in the regular season.
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Take Boise -7 to win and cover
