The New Mexico football team’s road game at Boise State this weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for Lobos head coach Jason Eck.
Before replacing Bronco Mendenhall at New Mexico this year, Eck spent three seasons as the head coach at FCS Idaho. He amassed a 26-13 record and led the Vandals to three straight playoff appearances.
Now he leads the Lobos into Boise where his team will search for its second signature win of the season on Saturday. New Mexico knocked off Big Ten program UCLA two weeks ago, but Eck said he expects beating the Broncos will be much more of a challenge in part because he said Albertsons Stadium will be much louder than the Rose Bowl.
“They’ve been the standard, I think, in the Mountain West for the past 20 years, and really they’ve been the standard probably in all of Group of Five football for the past 20 years,” Eck said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “So this will be a great measuring stick.”
New Mexico (3-2, 0-1 Mountain West) is coming off a 35-28 loss to San Jose State that went down to the wire despite Lobos quarterback Jack Layne throwing three interceptions and the team getting just 76 yards out of the running game.
Boise State (3-2, 1-0) is coming off a disappointing performance in a 28-7 loss at Notre Dame, which could have been much worse. If it weren’t for a goalline stand by the Broncos and misses by the Irish on a wide-open touchdown pass and a potential pick-six, Notre Dame would have scored 28 points before halftime.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
The Broncos managed just 100 yards on the ground at Notre Dame, and quarterback Maddux Madsen was intercepted four times. That’s more interceptions than he threw in the first four games of the season combined. Despite his struggles, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said he isn’t making a change at quarterback.
“Maddux Madsen is our quarterback, and I wouldn’t want to have any other quarterback in the country than him,” Danielson said during his weekly press conference on Monday.
New Mexico vs. Boise State Betting Odds
Boise State is a 16.5-point college football betting odds favorite on BetMGM at the time of this writing, and the Over/Under is 59.5 points. The moneyline is at -800 for Boise State and +550 for New Mexico.
Boise State is 18-2 overall and 13-6-1 against the spread in its past 20 regular season games as the favorite at home. New Mexico is 4-16 overall and 8-12 ATS in its past 20 regular season games as the underdog on the road.
New Mexico vs. Boise State on TV
The Mountain West game featuring Boise State and New Mexico at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho, will be televised on FS1.
Kickoff is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. ET Saturday.
New Mexico vs. Boise State Prediction
I predict Boise State wins 30-14.
I anticipate this game is going to come down to which team’s backfield has a better day. Both have plenty of talent. Boise State’s Sire Gaines, Dylan Riley, and Malik Sherrod are a lot for any defense to handle. Riley racked up five touchdowns against Air Force on Sept. 20.
New Mexico’s Scottre Humphrey, Damon Bankston, and DJ McKinney have proven to be capable as well. Bankston was the star of the Lobos’ win over UCLA with 154 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.
I think New Mexico is going to have a much more difficult time moving the ball on the ground than the Broncos. If they can’t run the ball, look for Layne to target tight end Dorian Thomas in the passing game. The Arizona transfer leads the Lobos with 28 catches and three touchdown receptions, and he’s No. 2 on the team with 287 receiving yards.
But Boise State is dealing with injuries on the offensive line and had players playing out of position last week. If the Broncos struggle to move the ball on the ground, look for Madsen to target former five-star recruit Chris Marshall, who is tied for No. 2 on the team with 14 catches and averages 19.5 yards per catch.
