Utah State vs BYU 2011 College Football Picks Week 5: Utah State, the Aggies, have a chance to defy the Week 5 College Football Odds and beat BYU, something they seldom do, when they visit LaVelle Edwards Stadium in Provo, Friday night. If the Aggies pull the upset, in this ESPN televised game, they will return to Logan victorious after suffering 15 straight defeats to the rival Cougars in Provo. The Aggies got one monkey off their backs in 2010 by beating the Cougars 31-16 at home, snapping a 10 game losing skid to the Cougars.
Oddsmakers currently have the Cougars listed as 7½-point favorites versus the Aggies, while the game's total is sitting at 51. Utah State was a 35-34 loser in their most recent outing at home against Colorado State. They failed to cover the 12 1/2–point spread as favorites, while the total score (69) made winners of OVER bettors. Last time out for BYU, they were a 24-17 winner as they battled Central Florida at home. BYU covered in the match as a 1 1/2-point favorite, while 41 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.
The Aggies like to run the ball and are pretty good at it. Running Back Robert Turbin leads the Aggie attack and is setting all kinds of record in the process. He is one touchdown shy of becoming the third player on the all-time Career touchdown list Turbin has rushed for 29 scores in his college career. Turbin leads the Aggies with 121.7 ypg rushing with eight rushing touchdowns on the year. Freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton averages 198.3 ypg of total offense with a 142.77 passing efficiency, throwing two TD's on the year… Junior WR Matt Austin leads USU's receivers, with 10 catches for 151 yards with one touchdown on the season. Senior linebacker Bobby Wagner anchors the Aggies' defense, posting double-digit tackles in all three games this season, averaging 12.7 tackles per game.
The Cougars are 2-2 on the year, after rallying to beat Central Florida, 24-17, Friday night at home, as special teams, defense and the running game helped the Cougars. DB Joe Sampson intercepted a pass tipped by LB Kyle Van Noy at the BYU 3-yard line to save a potential game-tying touchdown with 3:10 left in the game. UCF got the ball back with just over one minute remaining but sacks by Van Noy and defensive end Mike Muehlmann sealed the victory for the Cougars. On the season, sophomore quarterback Jake Heaps leads BYU, totalling 89-of-160 passing for 855 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. Cody Hoffman has been Heaps' primary receiver, with 14 catches for 182 yards, while Ross Apo has all three of BYU's receiving TD's, and is one of three receivers with 12 catches each. JJ DiLuigi leads the Cougar ground attack with 164 yards on 40 carries. Daniel Sorensen leads the BYU defense with 5.5 tackles per game with 21 tackles total, while three others have 19 tackles each.
After two straight impressive College Football Odds performances against by the Aggies, nearly upsetting 2010 defending BCS champs Auburn Tigers in Week-1 followed by a dominating performance versus Weber State in Week-2. After getting a bye in Week-3, it seemed all the air had been let out of the baloon losing to Colorado State as a 12 1/2-chalk favorite.
Reno Gold is the hottest CFB handicapper in the country right now after going 7-3-1 ATS in Week 4. Gold has performed better than the precious metal he is named after, his 2011 College Football Picks are 27-11-2 ATS which is a 71% winning percentage. Check back daily for Reno Gold's opinion on every major game on the board each week for free. Feel free to sign up to get Free NCAAF Picks now!
