– Last Updated on January 25, 2023 3:40 pm
Free Week 1 Prediction: Broncos vs Ragin’ Cajuns Odds
Looking for Boise State Broncos vs. UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns free picks? Week 1 College football betting sees the Broncos taking on the Cajuns Saturday September 3rd at Cajun Field, Lafayette, Louisiana. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions.
Week 1
Boise State Broncos (0-0) vs. UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (0-0)
Date: Saturday, September 3rd
Time: Noon EST
Venue: Cajun Field, Lafayette, Louisiana
NCAA Football Spread: Boise State -20
NCAA Betting Total: 64.5
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Boise State is habitually a Mountain West Conference contender, so the Week 1 draw isn’t exactly lovely for the home team Louisiana-Lafayette Cajuns.
The only solace to take is that the game will be played in Louisiana, and not on the dreaded blue “Smurf Turf” of Albertsons Stadium in Boise. The fans in Idaho are notoriously raucous about their beloved Boise football program.
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The Cajuns are a solid program in their own right, although things didn’t go according to plan in 2015. Louisiana-Lafayette had four consecutive nine-win campaigns before last year, but things blew up at 4-8 a year ago.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are a prime bounce-back candidate, so it shouldn’t be a complete cakewalk for the visiting Broncos.
Boise State Broncos
Part of the reason the Broncos are so successful every year is because Boise State mines for the players that are overlooked by the higher-profile California and Washington programs.
As such, they have a discriminating eye of overlooked talent, not unlike the Oakland A’s of famous GM Billy Beane’s Moneyball tenure.
Boise State will be favored in this one because it has a brilliant offense driven by QB Brett Rypien, RB Jeremy McNichols, WR Thomas Sperbeck and TE Jake Roh.
The Broncos likely have too many weapons for the Cajuns to account for in Week 1.
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The Broncos also have a host of talent in the defensive back seven, with all three starting LBs returning from last year (Ben Weaver, Joe Martarano, Tanner Vallejo) and excellent safety Dylan Sumner-Gardner.
This crew will surely make life difficult for ULL’s sophomore QB Jordan Davis.
UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
The Cajuns have some stand-out players on defense, which will be vital to have any chance at slowing down the Broncos’ attack.
Linebacker Otha Peters (originally at Arkansas), DE Mario Osborne and CB Simeon Thomas are all first-team All-Sun Belt candidates. Peters cut his teeth in the SEC, and he’s well-qualified to lead the Cajuns defense in 2016.
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Elsewhere, the offense is built around RB Elijah McGuire, a senior that was the conference Player of the Year in 2014. McGuire racked up 1,058 yards and 13 TDs last season.
Boise’s Sumner-Gardner will be jumping up in the box to help stymie McGuire’s running threat.
Under center, Davis offers scrambling ability to go with a good arm.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- ULL lost the only other meeting between these two teams, 34-9 in 2014.
- The Cajuns have won their last eight home openers, although that last five straight have been against FCS foes.
- Boise State has won 21 games in the past two seasons.
Free Week 1 NCAA Football Prediction
The Cajuns should rebound, if not quite in nine-win territory, then certainly far better than their four-win output from last year.
Thus, they have the talent to challenge the Broncos in Week 1.
Still, the Broncos will almost surely emerge victorious, but it will require everyone’s execution in the blue and orange.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: ULL ATS
There are just too many weapons that the home team’s defense has to account for.
The Cajuns might have a couple of scoring drives of their own, thanks to the dual threat of Davis and the strong running of McGuire, but I expect Boise State to light up the scoreboard, even with former Razorback Peters on the opposing sideline.
This game could be closer than these two teams’ last meeting.
Week 1 Free Score Prediction: Boise St. 31 – UL Lafayette 17
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