Boise State vs. MSU Odds
EAST LANSING, MI (The Spread) – One of the featured games of the opening week of college football takes place Friday night with No. 13 Michigan State hosting No. 24 Boise State at 8PM ET on ESPN.
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Boise State went 12-1 last season, its fourth straight season with at least 12 wins. The Broncos have beaten teams the caliber of Georgia, Virginia Tech, and Oregon in the last three season openers. Michigan State went 11-3 last season, its second straight 11-win season. This is the first meeting between these two football programs.
Trends show that Michigan State is 5-1 against the point spread odds in their last 6 home games and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 overall. Boise State is just 1-6 against the spread in its last 7 games, but 21-7 ATS in its last 28 road games.
According to oddsmakers, Michigan State is a 7-point favorite at home against Boise State on Friday night. The over/under odds for the game have been set at 46.5 points (View Matchup). The point spread hasn’t moved much in this game. Opening odds had Michigan State favored by 6.5 points. From there, the spread jumped to 7 points and has held steady for most of the week.
Michigan State has one of the top defenses in the country returning this year. The Spartans allowed only 18.4 points and 277 yards per game in 2011, and the team returns eight starters including all three linebackers and both cornerbacks. The Spartans also have defensive end, William Gholston, who is a top NFL prospect. Offensively, MSU averaged 31 points and 390 yards per game a year ago, but the Spartans have a new starting quarterback in Andrew Maxwell and the team also loses its top five receivers from 2011. Where MSU will be strong is on the ground. The Spartans have a trio of backs to utilize and a veteran offensive line that returns four starters.
Boise State has a lot of questions entering this season, as it returns just seven starters from 2011, and already one of them is expected to miss the season due to injury. Offensively, Boise State hopes it can continue to average over 40 points per game, which is has done four of the last five years. Joe Southwick will lead the offense, taking over for Kellen Moore at quarterback. Southwick will have some returning receivers to work with and running back DJ Harper to turn to. Harper is coming off a knee injury last year, but has plenty of experience. Defensively, Boise State returns just two starters. The Broncos have held opponents under 19 points per game for the last four seasons, but not much is known about this year’s unit. Both returning starters are at cornerback, which should leave the secondary somewhat strong.
In terms of Injuries, Boise State senior center Cory Yriarte is out for the season due to a knee injury while receiver Geraldo Boldewijn is suspended for the first four games. MSU guard Blake Treadwell will miss Friday’s game with a broken tibia.
The Public Bets are strongly behind Michigan State for this game. The Spartans are getting 73% of the wagers on this contest with odds of -7 points against Boise State.
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