Friday 10/16/15 service plays chatter/comps/requests & other stuff...

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

'ALCS'

Both the Blue Jays and Royals punched their ticket with wins in Game 5 of the ALDS. First the Blue Jays beat the Rangers 6-3, then the Royals beat the Astros 7-2 setting up an all blue ALCS. Built to score runs, the Blue Jays tops in long-ball (232) and runs/game (5.5) can do it anywhere plating 5.5 on home field winning at a .643% clip (54-30) and crossing 5.4 per/game in enemy territory posting a 42-41 record. Royals are a speed, contact, defense that can play in any park. Royals are 53-31 in front of its friendly crowd scoring 4.5 per/game while allowing 3.9 to cross home plate. On the road, Royals are 45-38 knocking in 4.3 while surrendering 4.1 per/game.

In the best-of-seven opener at Kauffman Stadium Friday, Marco Estrada toes the rubber for John Gibbons' crew. Estrada held Texas to one run on five hits over 6 1/3 innings to earn a win in GM3 of the ALDS and has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in 13 of his last 14 starts. Estrada has a 1-1 career team start record vs Royals giving up 4 runs over 12 1/3 innings all with Toronto. On the other side, Ned Yost is handing starting duties to Edinson Volquez. The right-hander touched for three runs over 5 2/3 innings in GM3 of the ALDS was tagged with a loss. Royals were 1-1 vs Jays w/Volquez this season with the hurler surrendering 6 runs over 11 1/3 innings. Career wise, Volquez owns a 1-5 team start record vs Toronto.

When handicapping this contest a few additional trends to ponder. Jays won 4-of-7 meetings this season, have a 13-3 stretch vs an A.L. Central foe and are 4-1 in Estrada's last 5 road starts. Royals are on a 1-11 skid in series openers, 1-5 last six with one days rest, 1-4 in Volquez's last 5 starts.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

MLB

American League

Blue Jays vs Royals

Estrada is 2-0, 2.06 in his last five starts (under 3-1-1).

Volquez is 0-3, 4.40 in his last five starts (over 3-2).

Blue Jays won three of last four games with KC; home side won seven of last nine series games. Toronto scored 19 runs in winning last three games after being down 2-0 in series against Texas (over 4-1-1 last six).

Royals won eight of last ten games (over 3-1 last four).

AL Wild Card game
Houston @ Bronx
Hst 3-0, even U7

NL Wild Card game
Chicago @ Pittsburgh
Chi 4-0, -$125, U5.5

NLDS
New York @ Los Angeles
NY 3-1, -$196, U5.5
LA 5-2, -$170, O6
NY 13-4, -$164, O7
LA 3-1, -$146, U6.5
NY 3-2, +$129, U6
Mets win series, 3-2

NLDS
Chicago @ St Louis
StL 4-0, -$107, U6
Chi 6-3, +$126, O6.5
Chi 8-6, -$202, O7
Chi 6-4, -$115, O8.5
Cubs win series, 3-1

ALDS
Texas @ Toronto
Tex 5-3, +$250, N8
Tex 6-4 (14), +$154, O7.5
Tor 5-1, +$126, U10
Tor 8-4, -$149, O10
Tor 6-3, -$170, O8
Blue Jays win series 3-2

ALDS
Houston @ Kansas City
Hst 5-2, +$122, U7.5
KC 5-4, -$178, O7.5
Hst 4-2, -$175, U7.5
KC 9-6, +$116, O7.5
KC 7-2, -$126, O7.5
Royals win series, 3-2

Blue Jays vs Royals

Cubs vs Mets

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Friday's six-pack

-- Mets 3, Dodgers 2-- Mets-Cubs in NLCS, starting Saturday.

-- SS Addison Russell (hamstring) won't play for Cubs in NLCS.

-- Auburn 30, Kentucky 27-- First SEC win this year for the Tigers.

-- Stanford 56, UCLA 28-- Major tank job by wounded Bruins.

-- Stanford has had 19 players drafted in last four years, most in Pac-12.

-- Saints 31, Falcons 21-- First loss of season for Atlanta.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Dave Cokin

Bonus Play

147 NEVADA at 148 WYOMING 4:00 PM

Take: NEVADA -6

This has been one right season for Wyoming. The Cowboys have been unable to find their way to the winner’s circle, and making matters worse is the concussion epidemic that has descended upon the Cowboys.

Wyoming lost three more players to head injuries last week against Air Force and while all three players are on this week’s depth chart, as of right now, none of them have been cleared to play. Add in two key offensive guys who are still out with their concussions, and you get the picture. This is a bad Cowboys team that is also very beat up.

One silver lining for the Cowboys is that they will finally get to face a four-man defensive front. That’s good news as Wyoming plays that scheme themselves and that should make them familiar with what they’re seeing after opening the season against five straight three-man fronts. Then bad news is that Nevada is off its best defensive game of the season as they very impressively stifled the New Mexico option last week.

There has been some support at the windows for Wyoming this week, but I don’t agree with it. The Wolf Pack showed me something in rebounding from a somewhat demoralizing loss in their big rivalry game with UNLV. They’ve got a little positive momentum right now and Wyoming certainly has none of that.

It’s also what I think is a pretty good match for the Wolf Pack. They’d like to run the football as much as possible. That being the case, Wyoming is a perfect opponent as the Cowboys are running out of healthy bodies on the defensive side and they’re lousy against the run as well.

This isn’t a slam dunk as Wyoming desperately needs to win a football game and it’s not like Nevada is a juggernaut. But I made this game -10 when factoring in all the guys who evidently won’t be playing for the hosts. If the Wolf Pack come to play, this is simply a game they ought to win reasonably comfortably and I’ve already laid the number with Nevada.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Jim Feist

Jim Feist's Bonus Play for Friday, Oct. 16, 2015 8:05 PM

(951) TORONTO BLUE JAYS VS (952) KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Take: UNDER THE TOTAL

Reason: Your Bonus Play for Friday, October 16, 2015 is in the MLB contest between the Blue Jays and the Royals from Kansas City. A pair of veteran aces are on the mound and both managers will go to their best bullpen arms when needed. The under is 4-1-2 in the Blue Jays last 7 during game 1 of a series. Marco Estrada goes for Toronto with a 3.13 ERA for the year and a 2.92 ERA against the Royals. They face a Kansas City team that is terrific defensively in the field and has strong relief pitching. The Under is 21-8-3 in the Royals last 32 home games vs. a team with a winning record. Yordano Ventura is on the mound and the under is 35-14-5 when the Royals face a team with a winning record. Play the Blue Jays/Royals under the total.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Jimmy Boyd

Boise State vs Utah State

Free Pick on Boise State -

The Broncos have really been impressive since true freshman quarterback Brett Rypien took over for the injured Ryan Finley and it’s safe to say that Finley won’t be getting his job back when he’s healthy. Rypien has taken this Boise State offense to a whole different level, as he has thrown for 1,057 yards with 7 touchdowns and just 1 interceptions in 3 full starts and limited action in relief against Idaho State. He’s completed 70.2% of his attempts with an impressive 10.2 yards/attempt.

In his 3 starts the Broncos have scored 56, 55 and 41 points, while outscoring their opponents in this stretch by 128 points. I know Utah State comes into this game ranked 17th in the country in total defense, allowing just 397.4 ypg, but I don’t think they are strong as the numbers would suggest. They held Utah to 24 points on the road in a big cover as a 11.5-point dog on Friday night back in Week 2 of the season, but the Utes lost starting quarterback Travis Wilson in the second quarter. Utah State still gave up 195 yards on the ground in that one and were fortunate to cover the spread.

The most telling game for me, was against Washington, where they allowed Huskies true freshman quarterback Jake Browning to complete 22 of 31 for 368 yards and 3 scores. Boise State is a much better offensive team than Washington and I look for Rypien to pick apart the Aggies secondary.

Utah State has scored 33 and 56 points in their last two games, but they came against a couple of poor defensive teams in Colorado State and Fresno State. They only managed 14 points against Utah and just 17 against Washington. This is also a team that beat Southern Utah at home just 12-9 and needed a 42-yard punt return touchdown for the game-winning score.

Boise State could very easily be 6-0 and ranked much higher than they are. The Broncos were very unfortunate in their loss to BYU. Leading 28-24, Boise State allowed a 35-yard touchdown pass on 4th and 7 with just 45 seconds left in regulation. Keep in mind that was also before Rypien took over at quarterback and the offense wasn’t producing at the level it is now.

I just don’t see the Aggies being able to make enough stops and score enough points to keep this one close. I’ve talked a lot about the Boise State offense, but their defense has also been exceptional. The Broncos come in ranked 5th in the country in total defense, allowing just 249.5 ypg. The same Washington team that put up 31 points and 442 yards against Utah State, only managed 13 points and 179 yards against the Broncos.

Underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points that are off 2 straight conference wins against an opponent that is off a double-digit road win are just 11-42 (21%) ATS over the last 10 seasons. Take Boise State!

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Brandon Lee

UNLV vs Fresno State

10* FREE NCAAF PICK (UNLV -6.5)

I didn't imagine myself laying almost a touchdown on the road with UNLV at any point this season, but I think the books are making it clear who the better team is in this one. Some will back Fresno simply on the fact that they had won 10 straight prior to last year's 3-point OT loss at UNLV, but that's about the only edge you can find in favor of the Bulldogs. Fresno State hasn't been competitive outside of a 34-13 win in their opener at home against Abilene Christian, who is far from an FCS powerhouse. Both of these teams played San Jose State, the Bulldogs lost by 26-points and were outgained by a whopping 296 yards. UNLV also lost to the Spartans, but by a final of 27-33 in OT and were only outgained by 16 yards in regulation. Fresno State's defense can't stop anyone, which is evident by the 56 points they gave up to a bad Utah State offense. UNLV is 2-4, but 2 losses came against Michigan and UCLA. The other two was an OT loss to San Jose State and 30-38 loss at Northern Illinois. Give me the Rebels -6.5!

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Stephen Nover

Iowa vs Northwestern

Bonus Play Northwestern

Talk has begun about Iowa going unbeaten. Usually when that happens the team loses its next game.
I see that scenario happening with the Hawkeyes.
Iowa hasn't won at Northwestern during the past seven years. The Hawkeyes are banged-up and facing what's sure to be an aroused Wildcats squad.
Not only did Northwestern get embarrassed 38-0 to Michigan last Saturday, but the Wildcats have a strong revenge motive after getting crushed by Iowa, 48-7, last season. That was Northwestern's worst defeat since 2010.
It's easy to write off Northwestern after its bad loss to Michigan. But that's a mistake. Not only are the Wolverines very good - a touchdown favorite this week against Michigan State - but the Wildcats have one of the best defenses in the country.
Stanford just scored 56 points on UCLA. Northwestern held the Cardinal to six points. The Wildcats rank in the top 10 in giving up the fewest yards and fewest points at just 12.2 points a game. That number shrinks to six points per game at home.
Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard isn't 100 percent and the Hawkeyes are using backup offensive tackles, one being true freshman James Daniels. It's the first time during the 17-year era of Kirk Ferentz the Hawkeyes are starting a true freshman on the offensive line. It comes at a bad time, too, for Iowa because Northwestern has two outstanding senior defensive ends.
Also remember that Iowa remains without wide receiver Tevaun Smith -their best deep threat - running back LeShun Daniels Jr. and tight end Jake Duzey.
Northwestern doesn't have a fancy offense, but Justin Jackson is one of the better running backs in the country. He's a two-time Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.
The Wildcats catch a break because Iowa suffered another key injury in their win last week against Illinois when defensive end Drew Ott suffered an ACL knocking him out for the season. Ott leads Iowa with 7 1/2 tackles for losses and five sacks.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Ari Atari

Chelsea vs Aston Villa

Bonus Play Chelsea -1½

The current run of form for the blues is bordering on a crisis and coach Jose Mourinho has stated it is the worst run of form of his career to date. However, Chelsea have many quality footballers and Mourinho is a proven winner. He is the ideal coach to recover the poor start to the league and guide them up the table. Diego Costa returns from a suspension and at the ideal time, as neither Loic Remy nor Falcao have looked good in his place. Ivanovic is an injury concern but he has been possibly the worst Chelsea performer this year so it is no real concern against Villa. 17 million pound signing Rahman will come in at left back offering more speed and natural width. This also allows Spaniard Azpilicueta to move to his natural right back position.

Another manager having a terrible start to the year is Villa boss Tim Sherwood. Unlike Mourinho however, I don't see him recovering. Villa have looked one dimensional and out of ideas this year. They haven't replaced danger-man Benteke and while Gestede is as good as the Belgian in the air, his hold up play, reading of the game and finishing aren't nearly at the same level. Huge pressure is on both managers entering this game, but Jose is a superior manager, at home, with a far superior squad. These are the current league title holders and I expect them to get back to winning ways versus a poor Villa side.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Doc's Sports

Nevada vs Wyoming

Bonus Play from Doc’s Sports. #147 Take Nevada Wolf Pack over Wyoming Cowboys (Saturday 4 pm ESPN 3)

Wyoming might be the worse FBS team in the country this season and we will continue to fade them when the pointspread is under double digits. Nevada bounced back well with a dominating win against New Mexico last week, a Lobo team that already won in Laramie this year by 10 points. Nevada seems to play better on the road than they do at home and expect that to hold true again today. All six losses by Wyoming this year have come by double digits. Nevada is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games. Wyoming is 15-36 ATS (1 push) in their last 52 home games.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Sam Martin

Iowa vs Northwestern

5* Bonus Play on Northwestern (+2.5).

Big game in the Big Ten this Saturday as #17 Iowa visits #20 Northwestern. Hawkeyes come into this game undefeated with their biggest win of the season coming on the road against Wisconsin. Northwestern was undefeated up until last week, when they were crushed 38-0 at Michigan. Having Northwestern as a home underdog in this matchup is a massive overreaction to last week's blowout loss, and we'll grab the points with the Wildcats fully expecting an outright victory.

When Michigan ran the opening kickoff back for a score and extended their lead early, it completely took Northwestern out of their game plan. Wildcats are better than that final score shows, and the proof of that is their home win against Stanford to start the year. These teams play similar styles of winning with defense without putting up gaudy numbers offensively. That being said, we do trust NW's running game much more than Iowa's in this matchup, and the home field advantage isn't properly being accounted for. Northwestern fell apart after losing their first conference game last year, but we believe they bounce back this Saturday and regain momentum to stay in the rankings. 5* Bonus Play on Northwestern.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Brandon Shively

Nebraska vs Minnesota

Bonus Play on Game #163 Nebraska (Saturday, 3:30 PM EST)

Nebraska could possibly be 6-0 right now, but they have had 4 losses by a grand total of 11 points. This is clearly a better team than their 2-4 record indicates. They will be playing a Minnesota team that they have dominated in the past before losing the last two meetings so this is legit revenge they are playing with.

Looking at the loss last season, Nebraska had a 21-7 lead before losing 28-24 in the last few minutes of the game. Minnesota's quarterback Leidner had 111 yards rushing and 2 TD's in that game. This year, Leidner has been banged up and hasn't been able to run the ball effectively. The Gophers have let true frosh Croft get some snaps in as well, but the truth is that the Gophers offense stinks. Leidner has 4 interceptions on the season and is only averaging 5.9 yards per attempt. Croft is 7-for-16 for a measly 34 yards. Minnesota barely got by three non Power 5 teams in Kent State, Ohio, and Colorado State winning each game by only 3 points.

The Gophers will have to run the ball and they won't be able to do it against this Nebraska front 7. The Cornhuskers are only giving up 3.3 yards a carry this season. They have all junior and seniors on their front 7. Nebraska has out rushed their opponents this season and for an average of 98 yards a game as they have 4 seniors on the offensive line.

Minnesota is starting a true freshman at center. Their starting senior safety is out for this game also and it appears they have a few more guys banged up.

Nebraska has been a favorite the last nine meetings thus giving us a clear case of role reversal. There is too much value to pass up here with Nebraska. I like the matchups for Nebraska in this game and look for them to come out on top.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Freddy Wills

Texas Tech vs Kansas

1* Bonus Play Texas Tech -31.5

The Red Raiders have a top tier offense, that can run and pass the ball and have scored 50+ points three times and 35 in their other two games. Kansas defense has given up 50 points twice to the 2 offenses they have faced in the top 10 in yards per play. There is no doubt that Texas Tech will continue to press the envelop late in this game, and I don’t see that Kansas is improving at all on either side of the ball. I rarely lay this type of chalk, but my formulas have gone 17-3 ATS when doing so.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Blue Jays at Royals

GAME: Toronto Blue Jays (96-71) at Kansas City Royals (98-69)
DATE/TIME: Friday, October 16 - 7:30 PM EST
WHERE: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
LINE: N/A TOTAL: N/A
Playoff Series: League Championship; Series Tied 0-0

The Toronto Blue Jays had to battle back from an 0-2 deficit and overcome some controversy in Game 5, but in the end they made it to their first American League Championship Series in 22 years. The Kansas City Royals, who host the Blue Jays in Game 1 on Friday, were the long-suffering franchise crashing the postseason party last season but are the experienced veterans this time around.

The Blue Jays led the majors in runs scored and home runs during the regular season and finally got that power going in the final three games of the AL Division Series, highlighted by Jose Bautista’s dramatic three-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 5 on Wednesday. The Royals finished 14th in the AL in home runs but beat out Toronto by one game for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and is ready to take a step up in competition. “We try to do the best we can against every team, and we all know Toronto is a better team than Houston,” Royals Game 1 starter Edinson Volquez told reporters. “They've got more veteran guys and more power hitters.” Kansas City had no trouble scoring runs with its season on the line and put up 14 runs in the final 11 innings of the ALDS against the Astros after totaling 11 in the previous 34 frames.

TV: 8:07 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Marco Estrada (1-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. Royals RH Edinson Volquez (0-1, 4.76)

Estrada picked up right where he left off after a strong regular season and held Texas to one run on five hits over 6 1/3 innings to earn a win in Game 3 of the ALDS. The 32-year-old allowed three or fewer earned runs in 13 of his last 14 starts and did not walk a batter in either of his last two turns. Estrada lost his only start against the Royals this season, surrendering two runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings at Kansas City on July 10.

Volquez allowed three runs on five hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings and lost Game 3 of the ALDS to the Astros on Sunday. The Dominican Republic native is 0-3 with an 8.76 ERA in three career postseason starts and has yet to complete six innings in the playoffs. Volquez has never beaten Toronto, posting an 0-4 record with a 6.76 ERA in six career starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Royals DH Kendrys Morales homered three times among five hits in the ALDS.

2. Toronto SS Troy Tulowitzki (shoulder) went 2-for-21 in the ALDS.

3. Kansas City 3B Mike Moustakas, who homered twice in the ALCS sweep last season, went 2-for-18 against Houston.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 5, Royals 2

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Cincinnati at Brigham Young

When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, October 16, 2015
Where: Lavell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah

BYU attempts to defeat an American Athletic Conference team for the third consecutive week when it hosts offensively-gifted Cincinnati on Friday night. The Cougars recorded at least 500 yards in victories over Connecticut and East Carolina the last two games and needs a similar performance against the Bearcats, who stand fifth in the nation in total offense.

Tanner Mangum threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns last week in the 45-38 win over East Carolina, but his status for BYU’s first meeting with the Bearcats is uncertain due to a hamstring injury. Cincinnati’s starting quarterback is likely a game-time decision as well with Gunner Kiel cleared for contact this week and joining Hayden Moore in an open competition for the spot. “It’s good to know we have two quarterbacks that we feel good about,” Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville told reporters of his signal callers, who have 12 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Cincinnati comes in off a bye week after defeating Miami (Fla.) 34-23 at home on Oct. 1.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Off

ABOUT CINCINNATI (3-2): Kiel missed the Miami game after suffering a neck injury early in the previous contest against Memphis, and Moore has thrown for 836 and six scores in his absence. Whoever gets the nod has six different players with at least 192 yards receiving to look for, led by Shaq Washington’s 392 on 34 catches. The Bearcats are averaging 587.2 yards overall while recording 11 touchdowns on the ground, and that attack should be bolstered by the return of tailback Mike Boone (ankle), who has missed the last two games.

ABOUT BYU (4-2): Mangum has completed 62.5 percent of his passes – 24-for-33 last week -- since replacing injured Taysom Hill in the opener, and fellow freshman Beau Hoge is preparing as his backup. Leading rusher Adam Hine (ankle) has missed the last two weeks, but Algernon Brown has totaled 229 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to go along with a TD reception in his place. Mitch Mathews (team-high 30 receptions) is one of three players with at least 339 yards receiving and leads the team with six touchdown catches.

EXTRA POINTS

1. BYU WR Devon Blackmon (27 catches, 342 yards) and WR Mitchell Juergens (26, 341) join Mathews in the top 90 in the nation in receiving yards.

2. Washington has registered at least one reception in 31 straight games for the Bearcats and has had three or more in the last 19.

3. The Cougars are 21-5 all time against teams currently in the AAC.

PREDICTION: Cincinnati 38, BYU 28

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Houston at Tulane

When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, October 16, 2015
Where: Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana

Tulane has given up a lot of points to high-quality opponents already this season, and it might be about to go up against the best offense it’s seen yet. The Green Wave will try to find a way to stay in the game when they host undefeated Houston on Friday.

The Cougars are sixth in the nation in scoring at an average of 46.4 points and are just as strong on the ground (287.2 yards rushing) as through the air (286.2 yards passing). “Balance is being able to win the game the way the defense is telling you how to win the game,” Houston coach Tom Herman told reporters. “… That is the goal of our offense: to be balanced. Not necessarily 50/50; we don't care.” The offense will go up against a Tulane team that surrendered an average of 50.3 points in its three losses, including a 49-10 setback at Temple last week. The Green Wave will send Devin Powell in at quarterback after Tanner Lee sustained a concussion in last week’s loss.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU. LINE: Houston -19

ABOUT HOUSTON (5-0, 2-0): Herman’s success with the Cougars is causing his name to be mentioned for openings at USC and South Carolina, but he remains focused on this week against the Green Wave. “Tulane is extremely talented on defense,” Herman told reporters. “Their front four, they are the best front four that we will play all year, which coincides nicely with our lack of offensive line depth. They will be a challenge defensively and offensively.” Houston has struggled more on the road, where wins over Louisville and Tulsa came by a total of 17 points.

ABOUT TULANE (2-3, 1-1): Lee suffered the concussion in the first half against Temple but symptoms did not present until the fourth quarter, after a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter had become a blowout in the other direction. Powell got spot duty at quarterback in each of the last three seasons and is 5-for-8 for 69 yards and a touchdown in limited duty in 2015. “(Powell) gives us the ability to run it a little bit more,” Green Wave head coach Curtis Johnson told reporters. “He can tuck it under and run. He’s big, he’s physical and has a strong arm. I’m excited to see him play.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Houston OL Zach Johnson (knee) and OL Josh Thomas (ankle) will both undergo surgery and likely will miss the remainder of the season.

2. Tulane LB Nico Marley ranks third in the AAC with 29 solo tackles.

3. The Green Wave secured a 31-24 win at Houston last season but is 2-6 against the Cougars at home.

PREDICTION: Houston 45, Tulane 14

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Boise State at Utah State

When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, October 16, 2015
Where: Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium, Logan, Utah

Boise State doesn't have too many roadblocks to work around in the Mountain West but Friday's visit to Utah State certainly qualifies as one for the No. 20 Broncos. Boise State is tied with Utah State and Air Force for the Mountain Division lead and the winner of this contest takes a large step toward landing a spot in the conference title game.

The Broncos may be without sophomore running back Jeremy McNichols, who suffered a head injury in last Saturday's victory over Colorado State. McNichols has scored a nation-best 14 touchdowns through six games while rushing for a team-high 485 yards. Utah State sophomore quarterback Kent Myers starts for the third straight game in place of injured senior Chuckie Keeton (knee) as the Aggies attempt to win their 12th consecutive home game. "It's going to be a major challenge for us, but one that I know we're up for and one we're excited about," Utah State coach Matt Wells said in a press conference. "We haven't beaten them yet since we have been in this league, but the fact that the winner is in the driver's seat for the Mountain Division makes it a big game."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network. LINE: Boise State -9.5.

ABOUT BOISE STATE (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West): The Broncos have outscored their opponents 204-24 during a four-game winning streak as freshman quarterback Brett Rypien has pumped life into the offense by completing 70.2 percent of his passes for 1,057 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. Senior receiver Shane Williams-Rhodes has caught a team-best 35 passes and moved into third place on the school career receptions list with 205, one ahead of Titus Young (204 from 2007-10). Senior cornerback Donte Deayon and senior safety Darian Thompson are tied for the team lead with four interceptions and Thompson nabbed his 18th career interception last Saturday to surpass the Mountain West mark set by Utah's Eric Weddle (2003-06).

ABOUT UTAH STATE (3-2, 2-0): Myers is 7-1 as a starter, has completed 65.2 percent of his passes this season and is coming off an effort in which he passed for a career-high 260 yards in last Saturday's 56-14 trouncing of Fresno State. Myers is also averaging nine yards per carry while racking up 180 rushing yards, third on the squad behind junior Devante Mays (259) and sophomore LaJuan Hunt (235). The Aggies have forced 10 turnovers (five fumbles, five interceptions) over their last three games and are led by junior inside linebacker Nick Vigil (team-high 52 tackles) and junior free safety Devin Centers (team-best two interceptions).

EXTRA POINTS

1. Boise State has won the past 12 meetings and owns a 15-4 edge in the series.

2. The Aggies have won 20 of their last 22 home games.

3. Broncos junior DE Kamalei Correa has three sacks this season and 16 in his career.

PREDICTION: Boise State 33, Utah State 27

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

JOE WIZ

Under 8.5 Toronto and K.C.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

BIG AL

Our complimentary selection for Friday, October 16 is:

Utah State +9.5 over Boise State.

 

[bloodsweatandbeers]

Marc lawrence perfect play? Tia.,.,...bsb