Another great night last evening as the Giants game was over almost immediately as soon as it started...Also cashed in some more with the Giants in the second half as well.
Looking to add to a great college football season by killing the bowl season again this year!!! It all starts tonight in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. This bowl game is extremely familiar to the BYU Cougars, as this will be their 5th straight appearance in this bowl game. They are actually playing their 5th different PAC-10 team as well, splitting their record 2-2 in their previous 4 appearances. I do want to point out that you have to factor in a lot of different things when capping bowl games...this is not the regular season, and you have to do your homework to see what team is going to show up. I think that is an easy question to answer in this bowl game. Oregon State Head Coach Mike Riley even said it himself, that his team is dealing with serious dissappointment, as their team lost to Oregon, and had a serious shot at playing in the Rose Bowl. They have done a lot of thinking "what-if" instead of worrying what lies ahead, which is ahungry Cougar team tonight that will bring a large crowd down interstate 15 to Las Vegas. BYU has been here before, and they will have the luxury tonight of having a very pro-Cougar atmosphere. I really believe that the more motivated team here is BYU, and Oregon State isn't thinking too much about this game, as their minds are still stuck on losing their chance to play in the Rose Bowl.
Now comes the perception talk. A lot of people believe that the PAC-10 is a lot stronger than the Mountain West, and while they might be true to a certain extent, you have to only look at the two teams involved in the game. With that being said, Vegas knows the perception that is involved in this game, and they have only Oregon State slated as a small favorite to bring in some extra action on the Beavers as the public feels that this BYU team from the inferior Mountain West Conferenece can't possible stop the Rodgers brothers from the supposedely better PAC-10 Conference.
Let's take a closer look at the game and the matchups inside of it. First, BYU brings an edge in this game at QB...no offense to Sean Canfield. Max Hall ranked 3rd in the nation in passing effeciency, and is no slouch. He faced some pretty stout defenses this year, including a tough as nails defense in TCU. Oregon State ranked 60th in the country in passing defense and will also be without starting cornerback Tim Clark. This is an extremely thin unit already, and this doesnt help...even HC Riley said so himself. In order to beat Max Hall and the BYU offense, you have to be able to pressure the QB, and the Beavers are not going to be successful at all in this category or matchup tonight. The Beavers rank 106th in the country at getting after the QB...they only have 15 sacks this year. That is a terribly low number, and helps paint a better picture as to why the Beavers are giving up 23.5 PPG on the road this year. And it's not like either team has no weapons on offense. In fact I beleive both quarterbacks have equal help. Canfield has the Rodgers brothers, receiver James and running back Jacquizz. Hall has All-American tight end Dennis Pitta, and running back Harvey Unga.
Yes, I understand that Oregon State is going to bring a lot of speed to the field, especially on offense, but it's not like BYU has not seen true speed. Keep in mind that they played Oklahoma this year, they played TCU, UTAH, and and FSU among others.
I truely believe this game to be a great game, in fact I think it will be a thriller, but I am going to take the points in this one, especially when it's with the better team, and the team I feel is more motivated in this matchup. Also, I feel that the public has a strong perception for the PAC-10 Oregon State Beavers tonight against the Mountain West BYU Cougars. Expect BYU to come to play tonight, as they will have a home crowd type of feeling.
BYU Cougars +3
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