Boise State is just about a four-touchdown favorite in its Mountain West opener Saturday night against Utah State at Albertsons Stadium, but that’s nothing compared to some of the wild odds junior running back Ashton Jeanty has.
According to sportsbook FanDuel , the odds of Jeanty scoring three or more touchdowns is -105 — meaning oddsmakers think it’s more likely than not that Jeanty will get at least three TDs. Other odds include a monstrous -3500 for Jeanty to score at least one touchdown — meaning a $10 winning bet would net a profit of 26 cents.
Jeanty is at -166 to have at least 175 rushing yards, meaning that to win $10, you’d have to bet $16.60. His lowest rushing total of the season so far? That would be 127 yards vs. Portland State, when he played only the first half.
The lines illustrate how thoroughly Boise State (3-1), which is -26.5 on FanDuel, is expected to dominate the Aggies (1-3), whose only win was a 36-14 defeat of FCS school Robert Morris.
But it’s Boise State coach Spencer Danielson’s job to, as he has said, block out the noise from outside and remind his players that upsets happen every week in college football.
“They’ve got a good team,” Danielson said. “They’ve been inconsistent at times, but you look (against) Utah, they’re up two scores against them in the first half. They’re up big against Temple.”
Utah State led 14-3 before losing 38-21 to then-No. 12 Utah and went up 14-0 on Temple before losing 45-29.
Danielson recalled that in 2015, a season in which the Broncos had beaten Washington, they took a 5-1 record to Logan to face the Aggies — and lost 52-26.
“It was the same thing (as this year), a lot of pats on the back,” Danielson said. “This is a really good football team. They’ve got a great group of skill on both sides of the ball, and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready.”
What does Utah State bring to the table?
What exactly can Boise State fans expect from the Aggies?
Utah State has been juggling two quarterbacks after starter Spencer Petras injured his ankle in the season opener. Former Utah quarterback and recent transfer Bryson Barnes filled in during the injury, but Petras returned for the Aggies’ loss to Temple two weeks ago, and now has had a bye week to recover.
Petras is averaging 219 yards passing per game, with Barnes at 174 yards per game.
Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said he’s keeping a close eye on slot receiver Kyrese White and edge receiver Robert Freeman IV.
“(They) are dangerous players and they do a good job formationally of stretching the defense, both vertically and horizontally,” Chinander said. “Horizontally by formation and vertically by some of the routes.”
The Aggies are led by interim head coach Nate Dreiling, who joined Utah State this year as a defensive coordinator. He was elevated to the interim position after head coach Blake Anderson was fired, a result of the university finding that he violated Title IX policies regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct, according to USA Today .
“I know what he’s going through, right? I went through it last season,” said Danielson, who replaced Andy Avalos with the Broncos sitting at 5-5 on the season.
“I think he’s doing a great job with his team.”
Utah State’s defense in the front is led by inside linebackers Clyde Washington and Jon Ross Maye, who have combined for 56 total tackles this season. If the Broncos get past them, they’ll face safeties Jordan Vincent and Ike Larsen, who have 70 tackles between them.
“Defensively, (Utah State) is going to have a lot of different looks,” Danielson said. “They’ve got some base coverages they play well, but (Dreiling) is going to bring pressure, and he does a great job of bringing in a lot of different situations to create confusion for the quarterbacks.”
Boise State vs. Utah State
When: 5:05 p.m. Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium (36,363, Turf)
TV: Fox Sports 2 (Eric Collins, Spencer Tillman)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 160 or 201 (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 3-1; Utah State 1-3
Series: Boise State leads the series 23-5
Vegas line: Boise State by 26.5 points
Weather: High of 73 degrees, low of 47 degrees, humidity 40%, mainly sunny, 4% chance of rain
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