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Saturday, December
22nd
MAACO Las Vegas Bowl - Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV 3:30 PM ET
Washington
Huskies vs. Boise St. Broncos (-5/46)
How Washington got here
It was an interesting season for Washington which had some good wins but also
had some terrible losses. The Huskies were one of only two teams to defeat
Stanford while victories over San
Diego St. and Oregon St. were also impressive. Three
losses against LSU, Oregon and Arizona were by a
combined 104 points and a season ending loss against Washington St. in the Apple Cup was
inexcusable. Clearly, Washington
plays well when it wants to show up but it is hit or miss of when that is.
Still, a 7-5 record is something to build upon as heading to a bowl game was in
question after a 3-4 start. The Huskies definitely got a good draw in this
bowl.
How Boise St. got here
We all knew Boise
St. was not going to be the same team we saw in
recent years, especially on offense, and it was the defense that held this team
together until the offense could find its groove. After an opening loss against
Michigan St.,
the Broncos reeled off seven straight wins before losing a rare home game
against San Diego St.
but they recovered to win their final three games to claim a share of the MWC
title. This is the 11th straight postseason appearance for the Broncos who are
also playing in their third straight Las Vegas Bowl. The last two were blowout
wins over Utah
and Arizona St.
by 23 and 32 points respectively.
Interesting Stat
After finishing the season this year, Washington and Boise St. will open the 2013 season on
August 31st at revamped Husky Stadium.
Breakdown
While we should see a lot of shootouts this bowl season,
this likely will not be one of them. The defenses led the way for both teams as
Washington is
30th in total defense and 37th in scoring defense while Boise St. is ninth in total defense and
sixth in scoring defense. Still, the teams have shown the ability to score as
the Broncos tallied 32 or more points seven times while Washington scored 28 or
more points in its final three games after doing so only once in its first nine
games and that came against Portland St. of the FCS. Both teams are in the top
30 in turnover margin so should any miscues take place on either side, that
could be the ultimate difference.
Trending
Boise St.
is 12-2 ATS in its last 14 games coming off a conference win by less than a
touchdown.
Washington
is 3-11-1 ATS in its last 15 games after accumulating less than 100 yards
rushing in its previous game.
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