Mountain West Champion BYU (10-2) will take on the UCLA Bruins (6-6) of the Pac-10 conference in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, Saturday with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised by ESPN. Oddsdmakers at online sports wagering giant Sportsbook.com have installed BYU as a -6 ½ point favorite ATS and -245 on the money line with a 46 ½ pont total.
Point-Spreads.com in house sports handicapper Reno Gold is shooting 100% (4-0, SIDES AND TOTALS) on his bowl predictions this new bowl season. Let Reno Gold and his staff do the research and you make the plays. His picks can be found at the Reno Gold picks page by clicking this link.
UCLA beat BYU early in the season by a score of 27-17 even though BYU out gained UCLA in that game by over 200 yards and it’s clear both teams have gone in different directions since then. In UCLA’s case that direction was in the tank. Injuries ravaged the team at the skill positions and the offense suffered mightily. Head coach Karl Dorrell paid the price with his job. Interim coach and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker will take over until UCLA can find a suitable replacement. Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow has recently removed his name from consideration, a smart move on his part. This is a team in turmoil who surprisingly beat a Dennis Dixon-less Oregon team down the stretch but still lost four of their last five.
BYU, on the other hand, finished strong with nine consecutive victories. They won the Mountain West conference for the second straight year with an 8-0 record. Four bowl teams, TCU, Utah, Air Force and New Mexico all fell to the Cougars in part thanks to the maturation process that took place at the quarterback position.
Sophomore quarterback Max Hall uses all the options at his disposal to run the offense. Six players have over 25 catches this season. The leader is tight end Dennis Pitta and running back Harvey Unga is third on the team in catches. Even though this is a pass first team, Unga has contributed 1,200 yards on the ground. Just a freshman, Unga had seven 100-yard games and 13 touchdowns rushing.
Online professional sports handicapper Reno Gold has been successful on 100% of his picks in the first two bowls played going 4-0 (SIDE AND TOTAL’S) in the Poinsettia and New Orleans Bowls. Reno has winning picks available for the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl as he and his staff have worked overtime to ensure the highest value picks are made available.
