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Free Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Prediction: Broncos vs Cougars Odds
Looking for Western Michigan Broncos vs. BYU Cougars free picks? Famous Idaho Potato Bowl sees the Broncos taking on the Cougars Wednesday December 21th at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, ID. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this Western Michigan BYU Famous Idaho Potato Bowl free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
(7-5) Western Michigan Broncos vs. BYU Cougars (6-6)
Date: Friday, December 21st 2018
Time: 4:00 pm EST
Venue: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
NCAA Football Spread: BYU -12
NCAA Betting Total: 48.5
Live CFB Odds
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Oddsmakers are expecting the BYU Cougars to win big in the Idaho Potato Bowl, making them favored by a dozen for this Friday December 21st contest. BYU definitely has an advantage of familiarity in this contest after having played in Boise on November 3rd. The ‘Cougs went just 2-3 down the stretch, but played well losing those games by a combined 14 points.
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Make no mistake, Western Michigan is no stranger to Boise either having played in the Idaho Potato Bowl in 2014. WMU missed the postseason a year ago (although they were eligible) but gets a berth this year for the 4th time in 5 years. The reason the Broncos are underdogs is mainly due to their 1-3 record over the last month of the season but the 1,800+ mile trek across the country can’t help either.
Western Michigan Broncos
WMU is an unknown heading into this game based on how they wound down the regular season. Western Michigan looked awful in a 27 point loss to Toledo and followed that up with a 44 point defeat at home to Ohio. They then dropped a 1 point game to Ball State (as -9 favorites) before turning things around in a 28-21 win over eventual MAC West champ Northern Illinois.
Freshman QB Kaleb Eleby leads the Western Michigan offense into this contest, having thrown 6TD to 2INT in five starts since taking over as center. He’ll have a great running game to lean on led by All-MAC selection LeVante Bellamy who has ran for 1172 yards this year. Jamauri Bogan added 700 yards but has also scampered for 15 scores on the year. BYU is very stout vs. the run however giving up just 129.8 ypg (27th in country).
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The Western Michigan defense is definitely cause for concern as they have surrendered 42+ in three of the last four games. It’s been the ground game that the Broncos have been especially vulnerable as Toledo ran 35 times for 268 yards over the past month and Ohio 41 times for 256. BYU ran for 300+ yards vs. New Mexico State and 225 against UMASS over the last three games so that could be trouble for WMU.
BYU Cougars
BYU players campaigned for a warm weather bowl but here they are in blustery Boise yet again. How much will that effect the team’s motivation in this contest? The Cougars may be more amped for this contest than expected considering last year marked their first in 12 seasons without a bowl game. Factor in the doable 5 hour drive for students and fans and maybe that -12 spread isn’t looking as high.
Brigham Young also sends a freshman QB out for this start as Zach Wilson has stepped in to throw 10 TD to just 3 INT since becoming the main man. The Cougars held a 27-7 lead over Utah as +10.5 favorites but ended up losing 27-35. That game shows BYU can put up points vs. quality competition but it also shows their complacency.
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The BYU defense will want to get back on the field after blowing the season finale vs. the rival Utes. This is a unit that was very underrated, ranking top 20 in the country with 325 yards allowed per contest. WMU will try to rely on their run game, but BYU is stout in that department at 27th in the nation in rushing yards given up.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Broncos are 2-6 ATS their last 8 games overall
- Broncos are 3-9 ATS their last 12 on fieldturf
- Cougars are 4-0 ATS their last four overall
- Cougars are 7-1 ATS their last 8 on fieldturf
Free Famous Idaho Potato Bowl NCAA Football Pick
Quite frankly this game comes down to whether the Western Michigan offense is good enough to counter the effects of their defense. BYU should be able to run at will on this team but can the Broncos, led by a freshman QB, get to the strength of the Cougars – their defense?
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: BYU -12
The Cougars are going to be able to do whatever they want to Western Michigan on offense in this matchup. Getting a big lead early will force Western Michigan out of their comfort zone in the run game. Add to that the travel discrepancy and this one points to BYU in a rout.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Free Score Prediction: BYU 45 – Western Michigan 13
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