Boise State vs Northern Illinois Poinsettia Bowl Betting Preview

After falling just short in their respective conference title-winning quests, the Boise State Broncos and Northern Illinois Huskies will both look to close out their 2015 campaigns with a victory in the 2015 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Better yet is the fact that you’re going to have a great chance to cash in with a potentially winning wager thanks to this expert betting breakdown on this intriguing NCAA football odds pairing. Now, let’ find out who’s going to bring home the bacon!

.@PoinsettiaBowl foes Boise State & @NIU_Football boast Heisman finalist QBs in @Jordanlynch06 & @KellenMoore_11 pic.twitter.com/smZg8tQoFk

— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) December 14, 2015

How To Bet The Broncos vs Huskies Poinsettia Bowl Odds, TV & Game Info

When: 4:30 PM ET, Wednesday, December 23, 2015 Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California TV: ESPN NCAAF Odds: Boise State -8

Why Bet The Boise State Broncos at -8

Because they’re the superior team on both sides of the ball! Boise State (8-4 SU, 6-6 ATS) was looking to make its second straight appearance as the Group of Five participant in one of the New Year’s Bowl Six matchups, but dropped two of their final three games to kill that opportunity. The Broncos did lay a 40-23 smackdown on San Jose State in their regular season finale to improve to 3-2 SU over their last five games, though the Broncos are just 2-3 ATS during the stretch. Led by freshman quarterback Brett Rypien, Boise State averages a stellar 37.8 points per game. The nephew of former Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien passed for 2,973 yards and 17 touchdowns while winning the 2015 Mountain West Freshman of the Year award for his efforts. Sophomore running back Jeremy McNichols has rushed for 1,244 yards and is tied for the national lead in touchdowns with a whopping 23 (18 rushing, five receiving). Junior wide receiver Thomas Sperbeck led all Mountain West wideouts in receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,334), while setting a new school record in single-season yards. Defensively, Boise State limits its opponents to just 21.3 points per game to rank 26th in the nation.

Why Bet The Northern Illinois Huskies at +8

Because this is a program that just knows how to win! The Northern Illinois Huskies (8-5 SU, 7-4-2 ATS) had some big-time hopes of their own this season after winning 11 or more games in each of the last five seasons. Unfortunately, Northern Illinois struggled in dropping their last two games of the season and now look to shake those losses off behind an inexperienced quarterback. Junior starter Drew Hare (Achilles’ tendon) and redshirt freshman backup Ryan Graham (leg) are both were injured and now, freshman Tommy Fiedler is currently scheduled to make just his second career start in this affair. Junior running back Joel Bouagnon (1,269 yards, 18 touchdowns) leads the way offensively and will likely get a heavier load in this contest with the Huskies going with their inexperienced quarterback. The Huskies average a stellar 33.0 points per game (43rd) and allow 25.5 points per game defensively (55th). The Huskies have a flat-out start in sophomore cornerback Shawun Lurry, a player that leads the nation with nine interceptions while simultaneously is averaging a whopping 30.3 yards per return. “It just comes from practicing hard every day and taking practice seriously and the (defensive) line putting pressure on the quarterback,” Lurry recently told reporters. “When they do that, the quarterback just throws the ball up in the air and I’ll be in the right area sometimes and I get it.”

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

Both teams are struggling coming into this contest, but Boise State is the better team on both sides of the ball. Combine that with the fact the Northern Illinois is going to be hampered by playing an inexperienced quarterback and it’s easy to come to the conclusion that Boise State will win and cover the spread. The Broncos are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against teams from the MAC conference, a robust 6-2 ATS in their last eight non-conference game, 5-2 ATS in their last seven bowl games and a consistent 7-3 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games. Conversely, the Huskies are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight bowl games, 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss and 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven neutral site games. Keep it simple people, Boise State wins and cashes in! My Final Score Prediction: Boise State 35 Northern Illinois 24