NCAAF Analysis: The Washington Cougars are coming off a devastating loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights as their season opener was a reminder of their New Mexico Bowl defeat last December in which their defense folded like a house of cards. The Nevada Wolf Pack got past 1-AA competition last week but plenty of doubts remaining in regards to their ability to succeed in the long run without retired head coach Chris Ault, who has been the only coach in their history to win regularly at the school. The Nevada Wolf Pack will host the Washington State Cougars at Mackey Stadium on Friday night with coverage on ESPN starting at 10:30 PM ET.
Washington State will be favored at BetDSI opened as a Pac 12 team coming off a bowl season in 2013.
Defenseless Pirate
Head coach Mike Leach is well known for his love of pirates and his air raid offense was reflective of that spirit in last week’s 41-38 loss to Rutgers as the Cougars compiled 538 total yards with QB Connor Halliday passing for 532 yards and five TD’s. The problem was that the defense allowed 496 yards and was shredded for 215 yards on the ground and 5.0 yards per rush. The Cougars failed to hold a 38-34 lead midway through the 4th quarter and did not look like a team that would improve from their national ranking of 102nd for total defense in 2013.
Big Shoes to Fill
Second year head coach Brian Polian quickly learned how difficult it is to follow Ault and win at Nevada as his first season was a lackluster 4-8 campaign. Nevada is coming off a 28-18 home win over 1-AA Southern Utah as the Pack led 28-6 in the 4th quarter before easing up at the end. Senior QB Cody Fajardo threw for 303 yards and a TD and Donald Jackson ran for 110 yards with a score. Nevada does have an experienced roster with 16 starters back. They also have a defense that ranked 117th nationally in 2013.
Matchup and Pick!
Washington State has come away with the money in eight out of their last ten road games with just five out of their last 20 away games going over the total. Nevada has covered the spread in just six out of their last 16 home games with seven out of their last ten home games going under the total. These teams have not met since the 2005 season when Washington State scored a 55-21 home payout with the game soaring over the total of 60. We’ll call for the Pac 12 pedigree of Washington State!
