Louisiana Tech Favored Over Utah State with WAC Championship on the Line
By SBRForum.com

WAC title implications will be on the line when Utah State travels to take on Louisiana Tech Saturday. A win on the road and the Aggies (8-2, 4-0) would clinch the WAC championship. The Bulldogs (9-1, 4-0) would earn at least a share of the title with a win with a key matchup against San Jose St. still remaining.

Yes, the WAC is a second-tier conference that won’t even be in existence next year, but this one should be fun. It features one of the most explosive offenses in the nation in Louisiana Tech going head-to-head with an Aggies defense that is statistically also among the nation’s best.

The college football odds have Louisiana Tech installed as a 3-point home favorite against the Aggies. The over/under is posted at 72 points, so most people don’t seem to see Tech’s high-powered offense getting slowed too much this week.

With that said, one of the more amazing stats of this game is Utah St. has yet to be beaten by the spread this year. They have a record of 9-0-1 ATS this season with the lone blemish being a 31-29 win over Colorado St. as a 12-point road favorite back in September.

Louisiana Tech has just one loss on the season—a 59-57 heart-breaker in October to then-No. 22 Texas A&M, the same team that just knocked off formerly unbeaten No. 1 Alabama.

Louisiana Tech’s up tempo attack is led by quarterback Colby Cameron, who has completed 71 percent of his passes while throwing for over 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns. Weapons at his disposal include running back Kenneth Dixon, who has ran for more than 1,000 yards and 24 touchdowns in a brilliant freshman season; and wide receiver Quinton Patton, who has caught 83 balls for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns.

That trio has combined to help the Bulldogs lead the nation in yards per game at 576.5 and have them second in scoring with 53.4 points a game.

Utah St. has won four straight games since dropping a 6-3 decision to in-state rival BYU earlier this year. The Aggies only other loss came against Wisconsin of the Big 10, 16-14.

The Aggies will try and counter Tech’s potent offense with an elite defense and balance offensive attack. The Aggies ‘D’ is ranked sixth in the nation in points allowed at just 13.5 a game. Offensively, the Aggies can move the ball both with the arm of quarterback Chuckie Keeton and the legs of Kerwynn Williams, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this year with nine touchdowns.

Louisiana Tech will have its hands full, but they are the defending champs of the WAC and should be a little more comfortable in a big-game than the upstart Aggies, who haven’t won a conference title of any kind since 1997. Look for Tech to move the ball on the Aggies stingy defense and cover the 3-point line.

College Football Picks: November 17th 2012
Purdue vs. Illinois
Prediction: Illinois +7.5
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Free Play from Doc’s Sports. #18/#328 Take Illinois Fighting Illini over Purdue Boilermakers (Saturday, 11/17, 3:30 pm Big Ten Network) The two worst teams in the Big Ten are set to do battle this Saturday afternoon in Champaign, IL. The two teams have combined for just one victory in 12 conference games and both have major flaws on both sides of the football. Illinois has won the last two games in this match-up by a combined 41 points (20.5 points per game) and they have more talent than Purdue does. Coach Danny Hope is on the hot seat and might need to win out to secure a bowl berth and save his job. Illinois has struggled under new coach Tim Beckman, but I just cannot believe that they are this bad. They have two winnable games to close out the season and I expect them to play well in both of these games. Purdue is just 4-11 ATS in their last 16 games following a victory in their previous outing. Take the home dog in this game, as Illinois has a decent chance to win this game straight-up. Do not miss Doc’s Sports weekend football card highlighted by pair of 10* selections (1 on Saturday & 1 on Sunday). Get all of the action now by signing-up for a one week package from a handicapper that has 41 years of experience in the business.

College Football Picks: November 10th 2012
Idaho vs. BYU
Pick: Idaho +39.5
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5* graded play on Idaho as they take on BYU set to start at 10:15 PM ET. The simulator shows a high probability that Idaho will lose this game by 39 or fewer points. This is just too many points and the line is inflated even more due to the suspension of QB Dominique Blackman. Moreover, they have an interim coach, who is a great teacher of the game of football. He has been getting his players more focused and giving attention to the smallest detail. Practices focused on finishing plays on both sides of the ball and that requires every player doing their job through the whistle. There had been a mountain of distractions impacting this team, but now they are more than two weeks out and a sense of normalcy is returning to this team. I am not saying at all that Idaho can compete against BYU for four quarters, but I am saying that I don’t think BYU can score 40 points on this unit. So, that makes this line all the more attractive because we have a play where our team only needs to score a TD to really put the spread in the winner’s bracket. BYU has no need to squash or embarrass this team. The coaches know that they have been through the gantlet and rubbing their faces in it will serve no purpose whatsoever. BYU is coming off the BYE week and had a multitude of injuries to key players. The last thing they want to have happen is for any key player to get hurt in a 35-10 game in the fourth quarter. Supporting this graded play is a system that has produced a record of 83-40 for 68% winners since 2006. Play on a road team after being beaten by the spread by 21 or more points total in their last three games and now facing an opponent after going over the total by 21 or more points total in their last three games. Take the Vandals.