BYU Cougars vs UTEP Miners
Saturday, 12/18/10, 2:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: BYU -12.5
Current Betting Line: BYU -11.5
Opening Total: 49
Current Total: 50.5
BYU will be making its sixth-straight postseason appearance in the New Mexico Bowl against the UTEP Miners on Saturday afternoon at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “I’m impressed how our football team turned the season around after a slow start,” Cougars athletic director Tom Holmoe commented. “We are very excited.” The Cougars still were unable to produce a winning record during the regular season for the first time since 2004, but enter the game winning five of their last seven games. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall has produced a 3-2 bowl record, including a 44-20 win over No. 16 Oregon State last year in Las Vegas. He will also return to the stadium in which he coached at from 1998-02 at the University of New Mexico as defensive coordinator. BYU is 16-21 ATS over the last three seasons and currently a double-digit favorite on the college football lines page.
The Cougars will be led onto the field by quarterback Jake Heaps, who will become the first freshman to start under center for the school in a bowl game. He holds school freshman records in passing yards, passing attempts, passing completions, games started and games won. BYU will be meeting UTEP for the first time in 12 years, but has won 20 of the last 22 meetings in the series. The program is also a dominating 26-6 against current Conference-USA teams, but has an 0-2 mark in bowl games against such opponents.
UTEP is making its first postseason appearance since the 2005 season and will be making its 13th bowl appearance. The Miners have posted a 5-7 record in postseason play and head coach Mike Price knows the team is excited leading up to the contest. “It means a lot,” he stated. “It gives you another spring ball, 15-20 more practices for our young guys.” The team is fortunate to earn a spot after losing five of its last six games after starting the season winning five of six. The two teams share one common opponent this season, with UTEP winning 38-20 at New Mexico, while BYU knocked off the Lobos 40-7 in Provo. The squad was 5-6 ATS on the season and produced a 15-20 ATS mark the last three years.
The Miners are led by senior quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, who holds the school record for passing yards (12,194) and passing touchdowns (94). He struggled mightily down the stretch in averaging just 155.6 yards in the last six games. UTEP has posted an all-time record of 6-16 at today’s venue, with all of those games against southwest rival New Mexico. The program has also gone 5-3 versus Mountain West Conference competition since the WAC split following the 1998 season.
Bettors will be interested in the Miners being 4-1 ATS versus the WAC, while the Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last four games.
The college football handicappers at Maddux Sports are ready for the bowl season and can’t wait for you to join them starting on Saturday!
