Friday, Oct. 25
10:30 p.m. Eastern, 7:30 p.m. Pacific
CBS Sports Network
The biggest game of the week might actually be on Friday night and not Saturday. Boise State versus UNLV is a game with College Football Playoff implications. The winner will stay in the race and the loser will endure a crushing blow. Both teams carry one loss into this game. With Army and Navy both being undefeated, the loser will have a hard time keeping pace in the playoff race. The loser might not be fully eliminated, but it will be hard to see a path forward over the next several weeks. The winner has a real shot of dueling with the Army-Navy winner and other primary contenders for the Group of Five championship and the playoff berth which accompanies it.
This game is also a showcase for one of the top two Heisman Trophy contenders, Ashton Jeanty of Boise State. He is battling Cam Ward of Miami for the Heisman right now. Jeanty will have this time slot all to himself. There is no other big college football game being played late Friday night. If Jeanty comes up big and leads Boise State to a win, he will increase his chances of giving Boise State its first-ever Heisman Trophy winner.
The other big story of this game is how well UNLV can perform with Hajj-Malik Williams at quarterback. Remember that UNLV got off to a great start with Matthew Sluka at quarterback, only for Sluka to withdraw from the team because of an alleged NIL dispute with the school. It was easy to think that UNLV would fall apart without Sluka, but Williams has held the fort. Now UNLV gets its big chance to show that a second quarterback can still lead the Rebels to first place in the Mountain West Conference.
Boise State Broncos-UNLV Rebels Odds
Spread: Boise State -3.5 (-105), UNLV +3.5 (-115)
Total: 64.5 (Over -108, Under -112)
Underdog moneyline: UNLV +132
Hear why T.J. LOVES UNLV as the underdog in this spot on the latest “3 Dog Thursday Podcast” by clicking play below,
Rebels A “Live Dog” In this one?
The really big detail to take note of in this game is the schedule leading into BSU-UNLV. The Rebels played a late Saturday game at Oregon State and had to fight for four quarters to win. That game was not easy, and it seemed that UNLV was looking ahead to Boise State in the first half before it regrouped in the second half.
Meanwhile, Boise State had the past weekend off. BSU has had almost two full weeks to prepare for this Friday game, while UNLV has a short week of rest. That seems like a substantial point of differentiation between the two sides. The Broncos and Rebels might be equal as a matter of raw quality, but Boise State is getting an extra week of preparation while UNLV is operating on short rest. If you are looking for a betting edge in this game, Boise State should be the choice. You could wait one or two quarters to make a betting play, however, believing that UNLV’s fatigue won’t set in until the second half. You could also consider a UNLV first half moneyline play and then go for Boise State in the second half.