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Free Selection from Arthur Ralph Sports
778- 566 57 % Free Play Run over 3 YEARS
Free play 20-6 run Thurs: West Vig -4
778- 566 57 % Free Play Run over 3 YEARS
Free play 20-6 run Thurs: West Vig -4
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Wunderdog
Game: Arizona State vs. Boise State (Thursday 12/22 8:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: Arizona State +14 (-110)
It is almost unfair to think that this Boise State team went from challenging for a BCS Bowl to a pre-Christmas Bowl. What caused the huge drop? One loss by a single point to a quality 10-2 team. The Broncos rank No. 6 in the nation, but were slighted again despite a 14-point win over Georgia on a neutral field, while Georgia plays after New Year's Day with their three losses. This one takes on the appearance of the last time the Broncos were slighted and played against East Carolina back in ‘07-‘08 in a disappointment Bowl. In that game the Broncos went down 41-38 to the Pirates in a shootout. Arizona State comes limping into this one on the heels of four straight losses, and barely made it at 6-6 on the season. It is a chance for redemption and a winning season against a quality program that has become a Top 10 fixture. Remember that this team Sun Devils beat Missouri and USC, and gave Oregon a run for their money as w! ell. So, they can certainly play on this level. Their offense has not been a shortcoming with the Sun Devils producing 27 or more points in all but one game this season. They will certainly get their share here vs. what should be a less than focused Broncos defense. Couple that with a pair of TDs in the line and this one is certainly chock full of value. Even with losing their last four, Arizona State did not lose any by more than 9 points and no one beat them by more than 14 points all year. Arizona State is 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 when taking more than +10.5 points, and Boise State is 0-6 ATS in their last six. Take Arizona State.Comment
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DAVID BANKS
Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Boise State Broncos
The Las Vegas Bowl is set to go on Thursday night in Sin City where the Boise State Broncos (11-1, 4-8 ATS) will look to win it for the second year in a row against the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-6, 4-8 ATS); kick-off from Sam Boyd Stadium is set to go live at 8:00 ET on ESPN & ESPN3.com.
With the USC Trojans ineligible to participate in the first ever PAC-12 Championship Game, it was of the belief that the South Division was for the Sun Devils taking. Head coach Dennis Erickson had 15 starters returning from last year's 6-6 SU team that just missed out on snapping its three-year bowl-less streak. After a hot 5-1 SU start over the course of its first six games played, ASU fell of the map dropping all but one of its last six games played which included losing outright as favorites against UCLA, Washington State, Arizona and California to close out the year. Due to coming up woefully short of the programs expected goals, Erickson was shown the door and Todd Graham – formerly at PITT - has been hired to run his potentially explosive offense in the desert for the foreseeable future. Arizona State won just one of its five games played away from Sun Devil Stadium (2-3 ATS) on the year, and checks in with a 1-5 ATS tally in its L/6 December games played.
Another one-loss season for the Broncos, and it’s another trip to Sin City where the Broncos certainly don’t deserve to be. This is a program that’s gone a combined 37-2 SU the L/3 seasons and has just one BCS appearance during that stretch. Head coach Chris Petersen finally blew up about the lack of respect for his program once the Broncos bowl destination was announced. "Everybody is just very tired of the BCS," Petersen said. "I think that's the bottom line. Everybody is frustrated. Everybody doesn't really know what to do anymore. It doesn't make sense to anybody. I don't think anybody is happy anywhere." Petersen added, "The whole thing needs to be changed, there's no question about it," he said. " ... I think (change) is coming, I really do." Whether this outlook about where it’s playing affects Boise State’s play is yet to be determined, but what CFB bettors do know is that the Broncos have covered eight of their L/10 bowl games having throttled Utah 26-3 in this venue a year ago.
These teams have only collided on the gridiron once back in 1996 when Arizona State handed Boise State a 56-7 beat down as 38 point favorites. The Sun Devils check in 6-3 SU & 3-4 ATS in their L/9 non-conference tussles, but have covered the closing number at an 8-2-1 ATS clip the L/11 times they were installed underdogs of 10.5 points or more. Boise State has covered each of its L/5 neutral field bouts and stands 5-2-1 ATS its L/8 against the Pac-12, but it's failed to cover each of its last six as a favorite and is just 2-5 ATS its L/7 December match-ups.
PICK: OVERComment
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SPORTS WAGERS
Houston –6 over INDIANAPOLIS
Colts shook a monkey off their backs with first win of season last week over the Titans. It was Indy’s first win without Peyton Manning at quarterback since 1997. However, Dan Orlovsky was anything but impressive, having thrown for a mere 82 yards in his first career win spanning seven years and nine starts. The Texans figure to get back on their horse after taking a breather against the Panthers last week on the heels of locking up their first-ever playoff berth. The line is short because Houston travels on a short week and got whacked by the Panthers last week. However, the Colts celebrated their win like a playoff game and accomplished their goal of not going winless. Let’s also not forget that the Texans have been the Colts whipping boys for years. With a chance to bury Indianapolis and solidify a higher seed in the playoffs in the process, expect the Texans to do exactly that. Play: Houston –6 (No bets).
Arizona State +14½ over Boise St
Dennis Erickson is coaching his last game for the Sun Devils after being let go following a disappointing finish to the season but we've seen many teams in the past rise to the occasion under the same circumstances. The Sun Devils closed the year with four straight losses but it wasn’t for a lack of scoring, having tallied at least 27 points in each. The strength of the Sun Devils' offense has been the arm of QB Brock Osweiler. The young Osweiler is actually ranked ahead of his highly regarded counterpart in this game. He’ll probably return next season for his senior year and should be one of the leading QB’s in next year’s draft class. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Osweiler has elite physical tools and more than adequate mobility for his size. He’s worth the price of admission and it’s quite risky giving a guy like that a two-touchdown head start. He led his Sun Devils to a pair of solid wins against ranked teams, including Missouri and USC. The Broncos bring a potent offense to the table as well, led by their ace senior quarterback, Kellen Moore. Moore is surrounded by a bunch of senior players but we’re not sure if the motivation is there for Boise as their lofty expectations of a bigger bowl game were not met. Boise State feels like it was snubbed by the BCS but that’s what you get when you schedule games against dregs and don’t run the table. Call it pouting if you will but the Broncos failed to cover a game from October 15th on, a 0-6 run versus the spread. The Broncos played two creditable opponents all year. They opened the year with a win over Georgia and they lost to TCU. Other than that, it was garbage time for the Broncos and along with that comes a bunch of skewed stats. The Sun Devils bring enough to the table to keep this one within range. Play: Arizona St +14½ (Risking 2.1 units to win 2).Comment
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