Utah @ Boise State preview
Sam Boyd Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 30, 2006 ) Boise State 36, Utah 3
The Skinny: Boise State (11-1) was eyeing a BCS bowl berth that didn’t materialize and rates as 17-point favorites over Utah. The Broncos saw their Rose Bowl dreams evaporate by losing a late-November contest to Nevada. Boise State worked out a deal to play in the Las Vegas Bowl when the Pac-10 didn’t have enough bowl-eligible squads to fill out its allotment.
Utah (10-2) won its first eight games before getting routed by Texas Christian and Notre Dame. The Utes squeaked by San Diego State and Brigham Young to notch their third consecutive 10-win season. The ugly losses by a combined 65 points and the fact quarterback Jordan Wynn will miss the game due to a shoulder injury have many people viewing this contest as a mismatch.
Point Spread: Boise State -17. Over/under – 60.5.
Boise State’s Edge: The Broncos have a stingy defense that ranks fourth in the nation in both scoring defense (13.6 points per game) and total defense (259.3). Boise State was sixth against the run (103.5 yards per game) so Utah will be in for a challenge if it decides to depend on running backs Eddie Wide (683 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Matt Asiata (673 yards, eight TDs) to take pressure off quarterback Terrance Cain.
Utah’s Edge: Getting the ball into the hands of gamebreaker Shaky Smithson is crucial for a Utah upset. Smithson led the nation with a 19.7 punt return average (he returned two for touchdowns) and averaged 24.1 yards on kickoff returns. Smithson also averaged 14.9 yards per reception. Nevada’s explosive offense exposed some deficiencies in Boise State’s defense and the Utes have three weeks to prepare some gadget plays involving Smithson.
The Quarterbacks: Boise State’s Kellen Moore finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and makes up for a lack of arm strength with incredible precision and superb decision-making. Moore always seems to throw the football to the right receiver and has two big-time targets in Titus Young (65 receptions for 1,151 yards) and Austin Pettis (59 for 804). Moore has thrown for 3,506 yards and ranks fourth in the nation with 33 touchdown passes. Moore has been intercepted just five times.
Utah’s Cain has a 9-1 career record as a starter so it’s not like he’s a novice being thrown into an impossible situation. He’s not as polished as Wynn, but did complete 70.8 percent of his passes as a backup this season. He had six touchdown passes and was intercepted twice in 72 attempts.
NFL Prospects: Boise State – WR Titus Young, G Nate Potter, DE Ryan Winterswyk, WR Austin Pettis, S Jeron Johnson. Utah – CB Brandon Burton, C Zane Taylor, G Caleb Schlauderaff.
Bowl history: Despite all its regular season success, Boise State has lost four of its last six bowl games. That fact gets overlooked because the Broncos’ two wins during that span came in Fiesta Bowls — the incredible overtime upset of Oklahoma four years ago and last season’s victory over TCU. Overall, Boise State is 6-4 in bowl games.
Utah has won nine consecutive bowl games, the second longest streak in NCAA history behind Florida State’s 11 straight bowl victories from 1985-95. Utah’s bowl winning streak includes a rout of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl two seasons ago and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh following the 2004 regular season. The Utes have two Las Vegas Bowl victories during the streak, including a win over USC in 2001. Overall, Utah is 12-3 in bowl games.
Etc.: In addition to quarterback Jordan Wynn, Utah will also be without starting left tackle John Cullen with a forearm injury. Boise State will be without middle linebacker Byron Hout (foot). … If it comes down to a clutch field goal, Utah’s Joe Phillips (32 of 36 over two seasons) rates as a better bet than Boise State’s Kyle Brotzman, who missed two chip-shot field goals in Boise State’s overtime loss to Nevada. Brotzman has made 14 of 20 field goals this season.