BYU at Utah State: What bettors need to know

BYU Cougars at Utah State Aggies (+4.5, 51.5)

It’s Big Love in the state of Utah with the BYU Cougars taking on the Utah State Aggies Friday night. Don't let their combined 2-6 records turn you off, both teams have played tough schedules and face a critical must-win situation on national TV.

And let's not forget that the winner of this instate rivalry gets “The Old Wagon Wheel”

Why BYU will cover

The Cougars are on a three-game losing streak, however, those teams (Air Force, Florida State, and Nevada) have a combined record of 10-2. After going through such a tough gauntlet, Utah State provides a bit of drop off in talent. The added motivation of this being a game on ESPN and a “must win” will ensure that BYU will bring its A-game.

Quarterback Jake Heaps will also be a key factor and could have a breakthrough game Friday night. The true freshman was a five-star QB in high school and he is already showing upperclassmen maturity by putting last week's loss on his shoulders.

"The only finger you can point is at me,” Heaps told the media. “I had opportunities and plays I could make and throws I just didn’t make. Offensively we battled and made some great plays. We drove the field and had our way with the defense but just couldn’t finish."

On the defensive side, BYU proved in the Nevada game that it can handle someone like Utah State QB Diondre Borel. The Cougars stop unit managed to keep fleet-footed QB Colin Kaepernick to under 100 yards in rushing and held the country’s fourth-ranked offense to their lowest point total of the season.

History is also on the Cougars’ side with BYU riding a 10-game winning streak in this series.

Why Utah State will cover

The Aggies are coming off of two poor performances in which they seemed to lack motivation and focus. Last week against San Diego State, they gave up 21 points in the first quarter which set the tone for the rest of the game.

So with all this negativity why will Utah State cover? Well, it seems like this is a team that will play its best when under the spotlight. Utah State proved it against Oklahoma in its season opener. As 34-point road underdogs, the Aggies nearly beat the Sooners straight up, losing 31-24. Diondre Borel was a key factor in that game throwing for 341 yards and two TDs.

This is the second time in two years that ESPN will be visiting Logan, Utah (the first being last year's game against Boise) and backers can expect to see more of the team that played in Norman rather than the one they have watched in the last two weeks.

Despite losing 10 straight games against BYU, Utah State kept the game close last year and was trailing just 21-17 in the fourth quarter. It’s the last year for Borel and several other starters and they will be aiming to impress against their instate rivals.

Notes and trends

The line opened up at -6.5 in favor of BYU but it has now moved to -4.5 at most books, despite the fact that popular opinion is on the Cougars. Utah State is 5-2-1 ATS in the last eight games in this series. However, this is the lowest line on record in this series. In the last three years, BYU has been favored by an average of 25 points.

The total sits at 51.5 and has seen only slight movement. All four BYU games have gone under the total this year. The under has also hit for three straight years in this series

The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies by kickoff with lows in the 40s.