Utah State at BYU Spread, Free Pick & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Thursday,November 24, 2016 9:58, EDT in

Not much to play for on Saturday other than some state bragging rights as Utah State (3-8) will close out its season when it visits BYU (7-4), which will be headed to a bowl game. In fact, it’s already known the Cougars will play in the Poinsettia Bowl against a Mountain West Conference foe. Possible opponents include San Diego State, Air Force, Wyoming and Boise State. Let’s see how the college football betting season could end up this week.

Utah State at BYU Spread, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Saturday, Nov. 26, 10:15 PM ET
Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo
TV: ESPNU
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Utah State / BYU
Opening NCAA Football Lines: BYU -18 (53)

Why Bet on Utah State?

The Aggies certainly have nothing to lose. They come off a crushing 38-37 loss at Nevada as QB Ty Gangi scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with five seconds remaining in the game and Spencer Pettit tacked on the extra point for the win. The key play against came with seven minutes remaining. Utah State owned a 37-24 lead and forced a punt. But the ball slipped through senior Andrew Rodriguez’s fingers and bounced into the end zone, where the Wolf Pack recovered.

Tonny Lindsey, Jr. had a career day for the Aggies. The junior running back rushed for a career-best 168 yards on 21 carries. His career-long 68-yard touchdown run with 11:03 remaining in the game made it 34-24 for Utah State.

Junior quarterback Kent Myers was 10-of- 18 passing for 127 yards and an interception. He also had 90 yards rushing and two scores on just 11 carries. Myers went over 1,000 yards rushing for his career on Saturday, becoming the third Aggie quarterback to do so. Freshman wide receiver Rayshad Lewis added 83 yards rushing and a career-long 59-yard touchdown run on four carries, helping Utah State gain 396 yards on the ground.

Utah State had won 35 straight games when scoring at least 30 points dating back to the 2011 season. Utah State is now 2-2 this season and has won 18 of its last 21 games with a 100-yard rusher. USU is also now 3-1 this year and has won 22 of its last 24 games when rushing at least 40 times in a game. For the Utah State, which has dropped seven of its last eight, the 86th game in the series with the Cougars offers one final chance at redeeming a lost season. USU is 35-47- 3 all-time against the Cougars, including a 12-17- 1 road record. Utah State won the last meeting with BYU in Provo, 35-20, on Oct. 3, 2014, snapping a 17-game road losing streak to the Cougars that dated back to 1978.

The two schools are separated by 126 miles and play each other with the Old Wagon Wheel trophy on the line.

Why Bet on BYU?

The Cougars beat UMass 51-9 last week for their third straight win. The Cougars were dominant on the ground, rushing for 247 yards and amassing 437 yards of total offense, while holding the Minutemen (2-9) to just 40 rushing yards on 20 attempts. Despite falling behind early in the first half, the Cougars scored 44 unanswered points and dominated in the second half thanks to four turnovers and a blocked punt. With 20 points in the third quarter, BYU has scored 20 or more in a quarter four times this season. Against Toledo, BYU scored 21 in the first quarter and 20 in the fourth. At Michigan State, the Cougars scored 21 in the fourth quarter.

KJ Hall rushed for 101 yards on 18 carries and senior Harvey Langi gained 56 yards on 14 carries on his first game on offense this season. Senior quarterback Taysom Hill passed for 165 yards and rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. It gave him 74 career touchdowns responsible for, tying him with Steve Young for fifth all-time at BYU.

Even with the many injuries that BYU have suffered on the defensive side of the ball, they have had a stifling run defense. The Cougars have given up only 1,204 yards rushing (3.37 yards/rush) and twelve rushing touchdowns. They have held every opponent this season under 200 yards rushing — including eight of eleven opponents under 150 yards and are currently ranked No. 12 in FBS rush defense. Another strength of the BYU defense this season has been points allowed. The Cougars have held their previous three opponents in a row to single-digit scoring (Cincinnati scored three points, SUU scored seven and UMass nine). The Cougars are Top 15 nationally in scoring defense.

BYU is 34-6 in the month of November over the past 10 seasons, including a perfect 18-0 at home during that time. The Cougars have not lost at home in November since 2005 when they fell 41-34 to Utah. BYU beat Utah State 51-28 last year in Logan and took home the Old Wagon Wheel. Defensive lineman Tomasi Laulile picked up a fumble and ran it back 37 yards for a touchdown just prior to halftime. The play sparked the Cougars to outscore the Aggies 27-7 in the second half.

Utah State at BYU Free Pick: BYU

Aggies are 1-9 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
Under is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.

Take BYU and go under the NCAA betting points.