No. 4 Boise State Broncos at Toledo Rockets
Friday, 9/16/11, 8:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Boise State -19.5
Current Betting Line: Boise State -19
Opening Total: 57.5
Current Total: 58.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Boise State will play its second of three games on the ESPN family of networks Friday night and enjoyed a week off since its 35-21 win over the Georgia Bulldogs as 3-point neutral-site favorites in the Georgia Dome. The Broncos will be playing the Rockets for the second time in school history, picking up a 57-14 win as 38-point home favorites last year, while going over the posted total of 60. It was an impressive effort in finishing with a 213-yard advantage, but head coach Chris Petersen knows the opponent is dangerous. “It’s not that surprising,” commented Petersen. “Even when we played the last year we had one of those games where kind of everything went right for us.” Boise State is 3-0 ATS versus MAC opponents and the ‘over’ is 2-1 in those contests.
The Broncos were led in last year’s meeting by senior quarterback Kellen Moore, who completed 16-of-22 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Boise State’s signal-caller is the active leader in wins nationally (39) and has thrown for 102 touchdowns. He’s benefited greatly from an offensive line that ranked third in the nation a year ago in sacks allowed. It’s carried over to 2011, as the unit failed to surrender a sack against Georgia. The program is likely to move its record to 9-3 against teams hailing from the MAC.
Toledo nearly missed picking up its biggest win in program history, falling 27-22 to the Ohio State Buckeyes as 17.5-point road underdogs. Third-year head coach Tim Beckman knows he will have to rally the troops in getting them ready for the highest-ranked opponent ever to appear inside the Glass Bowl. “There’s no question we felt we had an opportunity to win this football game,” commented Beckman about last week’s loss. “When you’re playing in games like this, you’ve got to make sure you’re playing all three phases of the game.” The Rockets actually out-gained the Buckeyes by a 37-yard margin. Toledo is 7-5 ATS in home games and the ‘over’ is 7-4 in those contests.
The Rockets are 6-9 all-time against ranked opponents, but a perfect 4-0 when playing host inside Friday night’s venue. Toledo will be best served to get the ball in the hands of All-America candidate Eric Page, who caught 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns last week. On the other side of the ball, the defense is going to have to plug people in due to losing three starters over the first two weeks of the season.
Bettors will likely back the Broncos due to their 8-1 ATS mark in September, while the Rockets are 2-5 ATS as an underdog of 10.5 or more points.
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