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First Look At Week 6 Mountain West Game Odds
More league games for the conference this week.
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
Who are the early betting favorites?
The initial lines are out for Week 6 of Mountain West play. There are three road favorites and also a trio of very large double-digit lines.
Here is how we are leaning with these initial odds.
Utah State at BYU (-2.5) (Friday night)
Some BYU fans probably won’t admit it but this is a rivalry game with a pretty cool trophy on the line with the Old Wagon Wheel, which Utah State owns after last year’s win.
This line is a bit surprising and the Cougars are basically getting the traditional home bump from the oddsmaker. BYU is 3-2 with a huge win over Wisconsin but besides that win, BYU has been up and down and especially so on offense.
Utah State has been more consistent, specifically on offense which is averaging 51.5 points which is good to be fourth in the country. Early lean is to take Utah State outright.
Navy at Air Force (+3.5)
The Falcons have not looked the same this year and the big issue in this game is if Isaiah Sanders is healthy enough to play at quarterback. He missed the Nevada game due to a concussion and the quarterback play was lousy with Arion Worthman and Donald Hammond III running the ball. Even if Sanders was healthy Navy likely would still be a slight road favorite.
San Diego State at Boise State (-15)
This is a huge line for Boise State to be favored by over one-loss San Diego State. However, the Aztecs are with backup quarterback Ryan Agnew as Christian Chapman is out for around a month, but they are now without Juwan Washington who is going to miss six weeks with a broken clavicle.
Losing those two players would make up a chunk of those points, but 15 seems a bit high even with San Diego State down two key starters.
New Mexico at UNLV (-12.5)
The Lobos offense came alive against Liberty this past week but the defense was just dreadful and could not stop the passing game at all. This could be great news for the Rebel offense which saw Armani Rogers struggle in the air last time out against Arkansas State where he was 5 of 21 in the air. The Lobos also are going with Sherion Jones the rest of the way as Tevaka Tuioti is out for the year. With the New Mexico offense being able to move the ball fairly well this nearly two-touchdown line is iffy either way.
Colorado State at San Jose State (+3.5)
This just might be the game for San Jose State to get its first win. The Spartans were extremely close against Hawaii but they welcome a Colorado State team that is in disarray. They opened up the quarterback competition, even though that is not the real problem, in hopes of creating urgency. This Rams defense is also poor enough that it could lead to San Jose State putting up a lot of yards and points.
Fresno State at Nevada (+11.5)
A road double-digit favorite is a rare beast and to be confident enough to take the Bulldogs to cover is dicey. The Bulldogs offense looked really good this past week against Toledo and Nevada’s defense is not exactly known to be able to stop teams on a consistent basis. However, Ty Gangi and the passing game have the potential to keep this game within single digits.
Wyoming at Hawaii (-4)
Wyoming’s offense is beyond bad. Outside of three big plays against Boise State it was completely shut down. However, this Warriors defense allows a lot of points and yards and could be the boost that this Cowboys offense needs. This also will be the biggest test for Cole McDonald and this run-n-shoot attack.
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