Las Vegas Bowl: Chris Petersen Rolls 'Em One Last Time

For all the understandable hype this game's been getting, it coulda been called the Gold Watch Retirement Bowl.

Wherever the Washington Huskies were gonna play in the holidays, Chris Petersen's surprise resignation was gonna be a storyline.

That was amplified when they got assigned to a bowl where the opponent is none other than the team he brought to national prominence.

 

Bovada has set the line at Washington -4 with the total being 48 and the moneyline at Washington -180 and Boise State +160.

The computer doesn't see sentiment in this matchup at all:

Why bet on Washington ...

Do know the Huskies will have sentiment on their side, though. In what's been a disappointingly bizarre season for them, they may have come out flat in a few games, but that won't be the case here in Petersen's swan song.

Incoming -- and highly popular -- head coach Jimmy Lake has the defense in tune, as he has for most of the season. Dude broke in nine starters, and it's been a young squad, but at this stage, they're not so young anymore.

The issue was on offense. Ironically for a Petersen team, it was too predictable. Slinger Jacob Eason has NFL talent, but frankly, he's inconsistent with it. Salvon Ahmed is as swift as an RB can be, and Richard Newton's a battering ram. They've got an experienced o-line to run behind. When it works, they're spectacular.

 

Why bet on Boise State ...

For starters, this is one pissed-off team. The Broncos made a strong case for being in the New Year's Six -- hell, they beat six bowl-bound teams -- only to see Memphis get the invitation. What's more, they're not in Las Vegas to wish Petersen good tidings. After all, no one in this crew played under him.

Boise State's patented post-season magic has shown in winning seven of its last nine bowl games. They've run through three QBs this season and just kept winning. The defense is opportunistic, finding a way game after game.

Numbers-wise, the Broncos have won six in a row as an ATS underdog.

 

Instant analysis ...

As dominant as Boise State's been this season, they haven't seen a defense like Washington's. The Huskies were 7-1 this season when the D yielded 399 yards or less. The Broncos have topped that number only once in 2019.

If the Huskies' offense does focus on sending Petersen into the Purple-&-Gold sunset, they should be a TD better than the Broncos. The question is, will they? The safe bet is to trust the defense to keep this one under control.

ATS Pick: Huskies -4
Totals Pick: under 48

Result: Washington 31 Boise State 7 ... Huskies cover ATS and Total

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Sportbet Columnist: Noah Williams

Noah lives and works with a simple philosophy of “Eat, Drink, Football.” This is embodied through a dedication to satellite TV, Indian delivery, Folgers in his cup, and Budweiser. He lives in a secret lair with his beautiful concubine.