College Football Preview: Fresno State at Boise State

Fresno State heads to Idaho for its final road game of the 2010 season and will face off against the No. 3 Boise State Broncos Friday night on ESPN2.  The Broncos are the highest rated team Fresno State has played since playing at No. 1 USC in 2005, a game the Bulldogs lost 50-42.  The program is 7-11 in Friday night national television games, with five of those losses coming to tonight’s opponent.  Fresno State nearly pulled off an upset last week, losing to the Nevada Wolfpack in a game that featured seven lead changes.  “We need to bury it and get ready for Boise State,” said head coach Pat Hill.  “We have a short week and will be in for a tough challenge against one of the best teams in the country.”  The team is 8-14 ATS versus conference opponents the last three years.

The Bulldogs will need a big game from its defense to remain competitive in this contest and will rely heavily on its ability to get to the quarterback.  Fresno State currently ranks sixth in the nation in sacks with 27, but Boise State ranks higher in getting to the signal caller 35 times.  Defensive end Chris Carter has nine solo sacks for minus-50 yards and defensive tackle Logan Harrell has seven sacks of his own.  The unit is 77th nationally in scoring defense, allowing more than 28.4 points per game, but ranks 45th in the NCAA in total defense, surrendering 349.5 yards a contest.

Boise State certainly has the upper hand in this series by winning eight of nine WAC meetings and leads the all-time series, 8-4.  “I’ve been a fan of what Boise State’s not only done as a football team, but as an entire program from top to bottom,” said Hill.  “I have a lot of respect for how they do things and what they do.”  The Broncos are no stranger to non-Saturday contests, posting a 32-2 record in those regular-season tilts, including a 7-1 mark versus the Bulldogs.  The team is also riding a school-record 23-game regular-season winning streak and can tie a record for consecutive home wins this week (31).  Boise State is 24-8 ATS the last three years.

The Broncos offense is a high-octane unit that has scored at least 33 points in every game this season and at least 42 points in six straight.  Quarterback Kellen Moore continues to be one of the better signal callers in the nation, leading the country with a 191.2 passer rating.  “We’re well aware we’ve got big opponents coming up, WAC championship implications, big-time teams,” said Moore.  His team will have plenty of confidence lining up for this contest knowing its the only program in the country to rank in the top five in both total offense (530.22 ypg) and total defense (240.78 ypg).

Bettors will be interested in laying the Bulldogs due to their 1-8 ATS mark in Friday games, while the Broncos are 13-5 ATS in the same situation.