Wow! What a performance from your Cowboys last Saturday. I’m sure a lot of you, along with me, were up in the wee hours of the morning. I was wishing, hoping, praying and willing my team to victory. OK, there’s a good possibility that had nothing to do with it and we could be a better team than we have been over the past few years. I did, however, say that we would cover the spread. I’ll take a victory where I can get it. I’m 1-0 so far this season.
This week, the task is tougher for Wyoming. We head to Sea of Red and take on the Cornhuskers of Nebraska. These aren’t your daddy’s Huskers that seemingly won every National Championship in the 90’s. This is a team that is entering its second year with Mike Riley at the helm and they got off to a good start. The Huskers last week beat fellow Mountain West foe Fresno State, 43-10. They are also 1-0 against the spread, covering the -29 point line from last week.
Wyoming goes into Memorial Stadium as a 25 point underdog. Given what we saw from both teams last week, I’m picking the Cowboys to cover again. Wyoming has had a history of covering the spread against “Power 5” teams. Over the past 5 years, the Cowboys have yet to pull out a victory but are 6-3 ATS. We have played Nebraska twice in that span, going 1-1.
The last game between these two in Lincoln was in 2013. Wyoming went in as 31 point underdogs and only lost by 3. Maybe I’m overreacting to week one results, but I don’t see any way that Nebraska will be dominant enough to cover 25 points. Again going back 5 years, the Cowboys have only lost twice to “Power 5” opponents by a margin of more than 25 points. Both those instances came in Coach Bohl’s first year and were to Oregon and Michigan State.
Bohl’s game plan is simple: Control the ball, win the turnover battle, stay ahead of the chains, trust your defense. Last year, we couldn’t trust the defense. This year, although it’s only been one game, there’s room for hope. We struggled against the pass against Northern Illinois, but Tommy Armstrong isn’t a great passing quarterback. Saying he’s good is a stretch. Nebraska will struggle to put up enough points to get the margin of victory necessary. My prediction: Huskers 31 Cowboys 20.
Over/Under: 58. Last week I said to take the under, and surprisingly I was wrong. 58 would be a lot of points for this game. I’ll take the under again.
**”Not so” lock of the week** 1-0
I told you BYU would go down to Arizona and win. I’ll admit, I was sweating bullets as a freshman kicker was called onto the field to win the game for them. But he came through, BYU opened up with a win. Week 2 is a place where Vegas can really make some money. More people make rash decisions and get over-excited due to a one week display.
Kentucky plays in the Swamp this week. It’s been 29 years since the Wildcats have beaten the Florida Gators. Kentucky was up big in their game this week, losing a 24 point lead in the second half. They need a bounce back game. That combined with wanting to end a 29 year drought, they will cover the 16.5 points this week. Lock it in.