Washington Huskies (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) vs. No. 23 Boise State Broncos (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS)
College Football Week 1
Date/Time: September 4, 2015, 10:15 EST
Where: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
TV: ESPN
by Wilson, NCAA Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: UW +10.5/BSU -10.5
Over/Under Total: 56.5
College football kicks off the 2015-16 season this coming week in what will be another race to the end of season playoffs. MWCs Boise State will host its Pacific Northwest rival of recent years as the University of Washington travels across the Cascade Mountain Range to Boise. Both of these teams are well respected in the college football community and look to get things going on a positive note. Boise State opened this matchup in the sports books as 11.5 point favorites. The Broncos are currently ranked No. 23 in the nation and are coming off of a Fiesta Bowl victory over Arizona last season. The Huskies continue to rebuild with former Boise State head coach Chris Peterson. The early line favors the blue turf crew but UW does a great job of recruiting and this should be a test of talent on both sides of the pigskin.
It goes without saying that Boise St. has been in the national spotlight for several years now. Clearly they are the favorite heading into next weeks contest but it is important to note UWs defense here, specifically the Huskys defensive backs. UW Defensive backs coach, Jimmy Lake, whom I coached in middle school baseball way back in 1990, agrees that last season was a difficult challenge with literally not one safety on scholarship and just four scholarship players from the defensive backs list. However, this is a new season and Lake refers to his defensive backs as young veterans after four of them played last year as freshman and two became regular startersit wasnt pretty and teams exploited their youth and inexperience but at least they have that to build upon.
The Broncos will create havoc and show a number of new offensive sets to no doubt frustrate the Huskies D. Why new offensive sets? BSU promoted TE coach Eliah Drinkwitz to offensive coordinator to replace Mike Sanford, who is now calling the plays at Notre Dame. Drinkwitz is the fifth offensive coordinator for the Broncos in 6 yearsthis can be either bad or great, and in Boise states case it is usually great because they just keep winning games and bowl games year after year. As of this writing Boise State will start returning sophomore QB Ryan Finley. The big question for the Broncos will be if the new QB (Finley or the other notable QBs fighting for the spot) and new starting RB, likely Devan Demas (Jay Ajayi is gone) can put up even close to the numbers former QB Grant Hedrick and RB Ajayi accumulated. Hedrick and Ajayi had 89.1 percent of the teams yards and 92.4 percent of the Broncos offensive touchdowns! There is plenty of talent
surrounding Finley as he will have veteran lineman in C Marcus Henry and LT Rees Odhiambo to go along with a solid crew of receivers including Shane Williams-Rhodes, Chaz Anderson, Thomas Sperbeck, and Jake Roh (if all return healthy).
STOP WASTING MONEY LAYING -110 ODDS! YOU’RE OVERPAYING! START BETTING AT DISCOUNTED ODDS TODAY AT THE WEB’S BEST SPORTSBOOK 5DIMES SPORTSBOOK!
Defensively for Boise State they will look to continue their reign as one of the best defenses in the top 25. They have ranked in the top 25 defensively in 10 of the last 13 years. Last season they had trouble with giving up the big play mainly because they had to shift key players due to injuries but back in health and more experience will make the Broncos D as stellar as it has been in recent seasons. Defensively, the Broncos should make the Washington Huskies coaching staff a bit nervous and extremely careful within their play-calling and adjustments.
The Washington Huskies will face a lot of pressure in this 2nd season under Head Coach Chris Petersen. The defense might be a bit stronger in the secondary but the D-line will need a total rebuild as true with the offense. Only nine starters return and most UW fans will have to be okay with an at best 6 or 7 wins. There is just too much rebuilding and inexperience to expect the Huskies to be a real threat at Boise State especially this early in the season. The rest of September may fair better as the Huskies will be home versus Sacramento State, Utah State, and California. They will need to gel as a team and workout as many bugs as possible before they dive into Pac-12 play beginning with the California Bears September 26.
The Broncos should take care of business at home this week against the Huskies and I believe they will cover the spread and exploit the still young and rebuilding UW defense. Washington may come out fired up but by the 2nd half this game should be a one-sided affair. Luck to ya.
Wilsons Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Broncos get the money! Bet your Wash/Boise St. prediction FREE by taking advantage of a massive 100% bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GTBets!
Additional College Football Betting Previews
