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Pac 12 Week 1: Bengals vs. Cougars Preview & Prediction

On Saturday September 3rd its the Idaho St. Bengals vs. WSU Cougars. Odds have the Cougars listed as 27.5-point favorites The game’s total is currently OFF. Here is a free pick plus the college football betting angle.

Idaho State vs Washington State Free Week 1 College Football Pick + Betting Preview

It all begins with a win on Saturday if Cougars head coach Paul Wulff wants to stay in Pullman for another season, and it would appear that Washington State could walk away one victory closer to matching their win total of 2010 by beating a downtrodden Idaho State Bengals on Saturday at Martin Stadium.

Idaho St. vs. Washington St.
Venue/Stadium: Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington
Time/Date: 5:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 3, 2011
CFB Odds From: 5 Dimes
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Washington State-28 -115
Over/Under: OFF

Click here for the ATS Gambling Report for this game!

Wulff enters his third year in charge with a woeful record of 5-32 overall after the Cougars finished their 2010 campaign with just two wins.

However, opening their season at home against a Bengals team that has suffered through three of its own consecutive one-win campaigns, and will be playing its first game under new head coach Mike Kramer, seems like a premature Christmas gift.

One they must open early.

Likewise, Idaho’s Kramer who served last season as Washington State’s assistant to the director of football operations, finds himself once again on the hot seat to rebuild a struggling program for the first time since being fired by Montana State in 2007.

The 56-year old is making his third stop in the Big Sky Conference also coaching at Eastern Washington.

He will turn to juco transfer Kevin Yost who won the quarterback derby this summer and in two years at Glendale College, threw for 3,517 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 261-for-475 passes, good for a 55 percent completion percentage. Yost should fit well into Kramer’s panache for playing an up-tempo attack. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

On the opposite side of the field junior quarterback Jeff Tuel who threw for 18 touchdowns last season will look to improve his numbers and his team’s chance for finishing out the season with a .500 record or better.

He will however need some improved protection from a line that allowed him to be sacked an eye-popping 51 times last season. That means staring on Saturday as they will have to pay special attention to Bengals linebacker A.J. Storms, who racked up 146 tackles in 2010, and is one of 20 candidates in teh running for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in the FCS.

If the O-line can contain Storms it will give Tuel time to hook the long ball receiver Marquess Wilson who caught 55 passes for 1,006 yards, as well as mixing it up with reliable short-range target Jared Karstetter (62 receptions, 658 yards).

As for the Cougs’ defense, it will need a good outing from cornerback Nolan Washington and safeties Deone Bucannon and Tyree Toomer who will look to shut down the Bengals passing attack.

This the first time the two teams have met.

NCAA Gambling Trends:

Idaho State is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Idaho State is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
Washington State is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington State’s last 7 games

Matt’s Prediction: Washington State 28, Idaho State 14

While the Cougars have too much speed and talent for the woeful Bengals, I don’t expect them to run away with it.

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