[BangTheBook]

Las Vegas Bowl Betting Preview
UCLA (6-6) vs. BYU (10-2)
Saturday, 8:00 pm Eastern – ESPN
SBG Global Current Line: BYU - 5.5 , Total 47

The Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday will match the BYU Cougars against the UCLA Bruins. On paper the game really looks like a mismatch as the Cougars finished 10-2 and dominated down the stretch while UCLA limped down the stretch and was lucky to make a bowl game at all.

SBG Global reports that early college football betting has the public taking BYU at Home.
Many BYU fans are unhappy that the Cougars get a weak opponent in the bowl game. UCLA finished .500 on the season and had their coach Karl Dorrell fired. What also plays into the game is that UCLA defeated BYU earlier this season 27-17. Neither team looks like they did in that game. UCLA was a healthy team back then while BYU was still coming into their own. Things are so bad for UCLA that fired head coach Karl Dorrell won’t even coach this game. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker will be on the sidelines. That makes sense since the defense is about all UCLA can hang their hats on. UCLA’s offense was putrid late in the season. They scored just five TD’s over the last four games.

SBG Global Current Line: BYU - 6 , Total 46.5

BYU has peaked at the right time. They have won 9 straight and look like one of the better teams in the country. Quarterback Max Hall led a BYU offense that averaged 458 yards of total offense per game. Running back Harvey Unga totaled 1,840 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns. BYU also has a solid defense led by defensive end Jan Jorgensen who led the Mountain West in sacks and tackles for losses. The only question in this game is how motivated BYU will be. What should help the Cougars is that it is virtually a home game. Although the game is played in Las Vegas, most of the crowd will be BYU fans and the game is a sellout.

Here are the college football betting stats for Saturday’s game. The Bruins are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 vs. the Mountain West. The Bruins are 22-6 ATS in their last 28 games as an underdog. The Bruins are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games overall.

The Cougars are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Pac-10. The Cougars are 20-7-1 ATS in their last 28 games on grass. The Cougars are 17-6-1 ATS in their last 24 games as a favorite. The Cougars are 20-8-1 ATS in their last 29 games overall.

The Under is 4-0 in the Bruins last 4 games as an underdog. The Under is 6-1 in the Bruins last 7 games overall. The Under is 9-2 in the Bruins last 11 vs. the Mountain West. The Under is 5-2 in the Bruins last 7 non-conference games. The Under is 4-0 in the Cougars last 4 vs. the Pac-10.