Las Vegas Bowl Betting – Boise State Broncos vs. Washington Huskies
It seems only fitting that Chris Peterson end his tenure as Washington Huskies coach against the team that helped vault him into a Power 5 gig. And that’s the storyline we have at the Las Vegas Bowl when the Huskies battle the Mountain West Conference champion Boise State Broncos. While fans of both teams will be saying adios to the coach, the city of Las Vegas will put Sam Boyd Field down for good. It served as home of the Las Vegas Bowl since 1992, but the game moves to new Allegiant Stadium for the 2020 playing.
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Boise State Broncos vs. Washington Huskies
Date and Time: Saturday, December 21, 2019, 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Opening College Football Odds: Washington -3, O/U 50
Boise State vs. Washington TV Coverage: ABC
Odds Analysis
Boise State won the Mountain West title and was in the running for the Group of Five bid to play in a New Year’s Six game. The Huskies were a huge disappointment with a 7-5 record. Despite that and a clear sign of the Power 5 bias, Washington surfaced as a 3-point favorite. And with the betting public backing U-Dub, the spread went up to -3.5. The Broncos have been a solid bet when getting points covering their last six games as a dog. It happened once this season when they were getting 6.5-points in the season opener at Florida State. BSU had a monster comeback and won outright 36-31. Overall the Broncos were 7-5-1 ATS. Washington went 7-3 SU and ATS when playing as a favorite this season.
Boise State Broncos
The loss of starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier likely cost Boise State a New Year’s Six game. With Bachmeier out injured the Broncos suffered their only setback of the season losing to BYU 28-25 in Week 8. They rolled through the Mountain West with a perfect 8-0 record and thumped Hawai’i for a second time, 31-10, in the conference championship for their fourth league title in eight seasons. It wasn’t enough, however, to sway the rankings.
Jaylon Henderson took over in mid-November and has been spectacular. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added a rushing score to beat Hawai’i in the title game. Over the last four games all of which he started, Henderson threw for 944 yards with 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions while adding a pair of rushing scores. The Broncos scored at least 31 points in every game and averaged 36.8 for the season, the 14th best number in the FBS.
Since joining the FBS ranks in 1996, the Broncos have appeared in 19 bowl games with a record of 12-6. Those acute readers will notice the math doesn’t add up. That’s because last year’s First Responder Bowl was cancelled due to weather. Boise State is hoping they get to play an entire game this season to add to a run that’s seen them win seven of their last nine postseason games that actually counted.
Washington Huskies
The Huskies fell hard this season, which could be the underlying reason why CP called it quits. A favorite to capture the Pac-12 North at the start of the season they lost to Cal in their first conference game, setting the tone for an up and down year. The offense showed signs of being a dangerous group putting up 52 against Hawai’i and dropping 51 on Arizona. But the inconsistent play of Jacob Eason proved too much to overcome.
Losses to division champs Utah and Oregon in consecutive games by a combined nine points was the dagger that ended any hopes of a fourth straight double-digit win season. The Huskies will attempt to carry some momentum from a 31-13 win over Washington State in the Apple Cup into the Las Vegas Bowl. The Huskies produced fewer than 20 points in the previous two games splitting with five-win teams Colorado and Oregon State. It would be easy to blame the offense for the team’s failures, but the defense didn’t play nearly as well as Peterson-coached teams of the past.
There’s a possibility Eason could opt for the draft after the game. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards with 22 touchdowns and eight picks in his first starting role since leaving Georgia. Salvon Ahmed has rushed for 1,000 yards to lead a balanced offense, but the group will be without tackle Trey Adams and tight end Hunter Bryan with the starters protecting against injury as they prep for the draft.
Bet Boise State vs. Washington at BookMaker.eu
With both programs having close ties to Peterson it will be an emotional day. It’s been six years since he left Boise so the relationships have dwindled, and the Broncos still have plenty to prove against a Power 5 team. The inconsistent play of the Huskies has been troubling and it’s hard to trust Eason with the possibility of moving on. The Broncos plus the points looks like the smart bet in this one.
Las Vegas Bowl Score Prediction: Boise State 27, Washington 23
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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
