Foote Notes: Boise State at Fresno State

The WAC takes center stage when Boise State and Fresno State collide for this week’s installment of Thursday Night Football on ESPN. FSU is priced as a 9.5-point home favorite and the posted total is a lofty 63.

The Broncos buck their way into this tilt at 7-2 (SU) and 4-3-1 (ATS), including 2-2 (SU) and (1-2-1) ATS on the road. Boise State kicked off the season with back-to-back losses at Georgia and at Oregon State, but has since reeled off seven consecutive wins overall.

BSU pasted lowly New Mexico State 56-6 as a 35-point “blue carpet” favorite last Saturday and now stands at 5-0 (SU) in conference play. The win extended the Broncos home winning streak to 30 consecutive games, as well as their dizzying WAC winning streak to 31 consecutive games.

The Broncos boast the nation’s 20th ranked offense overall with 446.2 yards per game and leads the WAC in rushing with 219 yards per game. Meanwhile, Boise State’s defense is yielding 360.6 yards per game placing it 52nd in the nation overall.

BSU has long been one of the most reliable pointspread teams in the nation and not surprisingly is supported by several strong trends tonight.

The Blue Broncos are firmly in the green at 37-15 ATS their past fifty-two conference tilts and 27-8 ATS coming off a straight up double-digit conference win. Note also that BSU is an eye-popping 18-5 ATS their past twenty-three in the month of November.

Then there is 20th-ranked Fresno State, which comes in with its best team since the days of Dave Carr. The Bulldogs are 7-1 (SU) and 5-2 (ATS) on the season, including 4-0 (SU) and 2-1 (ATS) when playing in their own backyard.

The Bulldogs lone setback came at Oregon by a field goal early in the season. Fresno State has since reeled off six consecutive wins and five of six against the number. The Bulldogs latest game was a 45-7 thrashing of San Jose State as a 33-point home favorite. The victory puts FSU at 5-0 (SU) and 4-1 (ATS) vs. WAC opposition.

Fresno State’s is producing 397 yards per game and puts the Bulldogs at 44th in the nation in total offense, including 4th in the WAC in that same category. Interestingly enough, FSU is the nation’s 5th highest scoring team thanks to one of the best special teams units in the country.

Meanwhile, Pat Hill’s defense has been tremendous yielding a stingy 15.8 points and 307.4 yards per game. These numbers place FSU first in the WAC and 21st in the nation in total defense, as well as first in the WAC and 9th in the nation in scoring defense.

Similar to its WAC counterpart tonight, the Bulldogs have been a tremendous value for their backers the past several seasons.

In fact, Fresno State is now 13-5 ATS overall and 11-3 ATS as chalk dating back to the beginning of last season. The Bulldogs are additionally 8-1 ATS coming off a double digit SU conference win over this same span.

But for all of Pat Hill’s remarkable success with this FSU program, there remains a dark blue cloud over his resume. That is, the Bulldogs are 0-4 (SU) and (ATS) their past four matched up with conference nemesis BSU.

Good luck tonight!