Boise State vs. Virginia Betting Line – Friday College Football
Carrie Stroup here with your Boise State vs. Virginia Friday Night College Football betting line. Sportsbook.ag Line: Boise State -3; Total set at 49.5
BOISE STATE BRONCOS (2-1) at VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (1-2)
Boise State finishes up a tough non-conference schedule on Friday night when it visits a hungry Virginia squad.
The Broncos breezed to a 52-0 victory over FCS Idaho State last Saturday, but the win came at a cost, as starting QB Ryan Finley was lost for eight weeks with a broken bone in his ankle. Both sophomore QB Tommy Stuart and freshman QB Brett Rypien played admirably in relief last week, and both will likely see snaps against much greater competition on Friday.
The Cavaliers have played a brutal non-ACC slate with a season-opening trip to UCLA (34-16 loss) before losing a 34-27 heartbreaker to visiting Notre Dame. Although they picked up their first win last week, they didn't play very well, eking out a 35-29 victory against 22-point underdog William & Mary (FCS school).
These schools are meeting for the first time ever on Friday, and most of the betting trends favor the Broncos. These include Boise State's 30-10 ATS mark after ATS losses in two of its previous three games and also Mike London's 2-13 ATS record as the Virginia head coach when the line is +3 to -3. However, in the past three years the Cavaliers are 7-2 ATS as a home underdog and 7-3 ATS in non-conference games.
In addition to Finley, the Broncos have three other players questionable for Friday's matchup with undisclosed injuries in WRs D.J. Dean and Rick Smith, and DE Gabe Perez. Virginia remains without four key players with WRs T.J. Thorpe (collarbone) and Umar Muhammad-Wyatt (knee) out indefinitely and OLs Eric Tretlow and Jake Fieler done for the season with undisclosed injuries.
Both of Boise State's backup quarterbacks looked strong last week, as former JUCO transfer Tommy Stuart was 9-of-13 for 69 yards and a touchdown, but absorbed three sacks. Freshman Brett Rypien was a near-perfect 8-of-9 for 126 yards and led his team to four scoring drives (3 TD, 1 FG) in four possessions. Both signal callers realize the team has a great receiving duo in senior WR Shane Williams-Rhodes (18 rec, 173 yds) and junior Thomas Sperbeck (12 rec, 140 yds.), who have both curiously have not found the end zone yet.
Part of that is due to the ground game rolling in the red zone with 10 rushing touchdowns. Seven of them have gone to sophomore RB Jeremy McNichols, who has rushed for 204 yards on a subpar 3.8 YPC. Junior RB Devan Demas has been electric with 8.8 YPC on his 12 attempts.
The Broncos defense has been on the field for only 27:51, thanks to a run-stop unit holding opponents to 46 YPG on 1.7 YPC. The passing defense has surrendered 240 YPG, but opposing quarterbacks are completing only 54.5% of their passes.
Virginia's offense continues to revolve around junior RB Taquan Mizzell, who leads the team with 155 rushing yards (4.0 YPC) and is second in receiving yards with 233, thanks largely to an 80-yard TD reception last week. He has taken the pressure off steady junior QB Matt Johns, who has completed 67% of his throws for 790 yards (8.2 YPA), 6 TD and 3 INT. Johns' completion percentage and passing yardage have both climbed in each of his three games.
Senior WR Canaan Severin (19 rec, 264 yds, 1 TD) has been his best receiver, using his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame to outmuscle defenders. Severin was incredible in the near-upset of Notre Dame when he caught 11 passes for 153 yards.
The defense has not produced a single takeaway in three games so far, and has allowed a hefty 5.1 YPC on the ground. The Cavaliers haven't been much better through the air either, allowing 261 YPG on 64% completions and 7.5 YPA. They are hoping the inexperienced Boise State quarterbacks will not have the same success that opponents have enjoyed so far in 2015.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
