Wyoming over UTAH ST by 6
The 6-2 Cowboys appear to be in good shape for a bowl bid but they
remember quite well last year’s strong finish: 4 victories to close the
season to get to 6 wins, only to get the cold shoulder from bowl
brass. In last week’s overtime loss at Boise State, 4*QB recruit Tyler
Vander Waal went 15-of-23 for 160 yards while stepping in for Sean
Chambers, who was lost for the season the previous week with a
knee injury. The Cowboys mainly rely on their ground game and RB
Xazavian Valladay, who has averaged just under five yards per carry,
but Chambers was the team’s second leading rusher (567 yards and
10 TDs) and was 9-2 as a starter in Laramie. Still, Van Waal started
eight games last season so the Pokes appear to be in good shape
to finish strong. Meanwhile, the Utah State defense has slipped a
cotter pin, as the Aggies are being outyarded -139 YPG since the
beginning of October. Though it has been a rough season for USU
QB Jordan Love (at one time a projected high NFL draft pick), last
week’s performance against Fresno State gave some hope for a
turnaround. With the pressure squarely on the Aggies, who need
two more wins to become bowl eligible, we turn to THE CLINCHER:
Craig Bohl is 7-1 ATS as a conference dog of more than 4
points off a spread win, including 5-0 ATS against foes that
allow 22 or more PPG.
AUBURN over Georgia by 11
The No. 5 Bulldogs continue their quest to win the SEC East and
take on LSU in the SEC Championship game. First, however, they’ve
got to get past a major roadblock in No. 13 Auburn. The Tigers
have lost just twice this season, at Florida by 11 points and at LSU
by 3 points. Those defeats came during a brutal stretch of three
straight conference road games but now Aubbie is back at JordanHare Stadium where they’ve gone 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in 2019. This
afternoon’s SEC showcase game on CBS fi nds the Tigers playing the
second of four consecutive home games to close out the regular
season. Head coach Gus Malzahn would love nothing better than
to play spoiler to the Dawgs this week and to Alabama to conclude
the season in two weeks… and why not? He is 27-2 SU at home in
his career with a win percentage of .700 or greater, including 11-1
SUATS against .700 poor greater opponents, as well as 4-0 SUATS
as a dog. Those numbers clash head-on with Georgia’s recent 6-1
SUATS series dominance, plus the Bulldog defense has not allowed
more than 17 points in regulation this season. However, UGA was
hit hard with injuries in last week’s shutout of Missouri, so check the
team injury reports before getting too enamored with Kirby Smart’s
boys. Auburn brings a 4-0-1 ATS mark with rest and a 9-3 ATS record
with conference revenge into today’s fray. Yes, the rumor mill has
Gus hopping on a bus to Arkansas after season’s end but that won’t
affect the Tigers preparation here. And speaking of Malzahn, our
Coaches Database shares this double-barreled CLINCHER: Auburn
head coach Gus Malzahn is 10-0 SU and 8-1-1 ATS with rest in
conference games in his career, as well as 8-0 SU and 6-1-1
ATS with rest against unrested opponents
