New Mexico Bowl: Brigham Young Cougars vs Texas-El Paso Miners Preview Free College Football Pick
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Cougars at Miners
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Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 18, 2 pm EST
Venue: University Stadium, Albuquerque NM
BYU Cougars (6-6) vs. UTEP Miners (6-6) Betting Lines from Betus.com
MoneyLine: BYU -450, UTEP +350
NCAA Betting Favorite: BYU (-12) UTEP (+12)
Over/Under: 50
(Odds courtesy of BetUS) – BET NOW!!!
BYU
Well the Cougars made it. In their swansong in the Mountain West, and after a dismal start, they actually qualified for a bowl and for the first time in a while it wasn’t the Las Vegas bowl. Nope instead of the bright lights of the strip they will meet UTEP in Albequerque to kick of the bowl season. BYU had to win four of five to qualify this year but ended the season on a sour note losing the Holy War at Utah by a single point.
Freshman QB Jake Heaps was very highly touted but didn’t look good early on. Down the stretch he started to live up to the hype with 10 TDs and only 2 interceptions in his last five games. He was a real recruiting coup for the program and if they didn’t have him for another few years I think they would be staying put in the MWC. His go to receiver is also his go to running back as JJ Di Luigi led BYU in both rushing and receiving, a rarity.
These two teams have met plenty of times over the years but not since 1998. The Cougars have dominated in the past winning nine of ten, always being the favourite. For bowl games it is always interesting to take a look at common opponents. In this case both teams beat New Mexico with BYU having an edge beating 40-7 as compare to 38-20 for UTEP. 
UTEP
The Miners were off to a promising start and they fell apart. They lost five of their last six games sneaking into the bowl picture with a surprise win against SMU. That was their only win of any quality this year, in fact they were luck that is was such a down year in the Land of Enchantment (New Mexico) for football this season. Without victories over the Aggies and the Lobos this team would be already wrapping presents.
In that win over SMU QB Trevor Vittatoe had his most efficient game of the season. He only threw for 183 yards but threw 3 TDs with no interceptions. His struggles are well documented over the last few seasons but this will be his last game and any chance the Miners have of upsetting BYU resides with him. When he plays well this team can be pretty good (relatively). When he doesn’t they don’t have a chance.
Generally I favour underdogs in bowl games. The extra time to prepare can make a big difference and so can having several weeks offs to heal up your squad. However, when a team is a double digit dog like UTEP is in this one it is usually for good reason. BYU had enough talent to win most of the games on their schedule but fell short due to an uncharacteristically inexperienced team. The should have no trouble dispatching UTEP.
The Pick: BYU is a much more physical team then UTEP…and more talented too. They should be able to take command and win fairly easily.
College Football Gambling Trends
Miners are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. MWC.
Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.
Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in December.
Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
New Mexico Bowl Score Prediction: BYU 31 – UTEP 17
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