Thursday night's college football game on ESPN between the Boise State Broncos and University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at Boise’s Bronco Stadium appears to be a match-up of like teams. Each team prefers a run first approach using a feature running back. For Boise State, its junior running back and Fiesta Bowl hero Ian Johnson while Damien Fletcher is the primary carrier for the Golden Eagles. USM is coming into Boise as a +11 point road underdog according to oddsmakers at Bodog (Bodoglife.com).
Johnson, No.8 in balloting for the 2006 Heisman Trophy as a sophomore , averages just a little over 97 yards per game while the Broncos as a team are averaging 198.3 yards rushing per game, good enough for a No. 34 ranking nationally. In three games this year, Johnson has carried the ball 62 times for 292 yards for a 4.7 yards per carry average and has rushed for three touchdowns. Johnson has caught seven passes for 43 yards.
After three games, Fletcher is averaging 101 yard rushing per game. The 5’10”, 175 pound sophomore has carried the ball 57 times for a 5.3 yards per carry average. Fletcher has also been effective as a receiver hauling in seven passes for 81 yards for 11.6 yards per catch average.
In 2006 Johnson was No.4 on the NCAA rushing charts with 276 carries for 1,714 yards while Fletcher was No.12, carrying the rock 276 times for 1,388 yards.
Defenses would like to stack the box to stop Fletcher; however, USM senior quarterback Jeremy Young is a duel threat who has been hot with his passing the past two games. Young was 19 of 36 for a career high 254 yards at Tennessee Sept.8 and followed that with 237 passing yards at East Carolina the next week.
The jury is still out on BSU senior quarterback Taylor Tharp. In his first year as a starter, Tharp has made some unwise decision resulting in four costly turnovers in their loss at Washington. He bounced back the next week at home against Wyoming with a zero-turnover game while throwing for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, the Broncos are giving up 15 points per game, No. 11 nationally and are ranked No. 10 in total defense giving up 279.7 yards per game. The Broncos only give up 80.7 yards per game rushing and 169 yards per game through the air.
USM ranks No. 57 in scoring defense giving up 24.3 points per game and ranks No. 47 in total defense allowing 342 yards per game. Opposing teams are averaging 120.7 yards on the ground and 221 through the air.
Point-Spreads.com award winning handicapper Reno Goldberg is red-hot with his college football picks through week-four going 22-14-0 (15-8 ATS, 5-3 totals) for a sizzling 71% winning average. Reno guarantees at least 7-picks per week in his weekly picks package that can be found right here.
Checkout our live College Football Point Spreads showcasing real time odds of the world's top online sportsbooks all in one easy to use location. Get line movements in real time and find out who has the best college football betting odds.
