Washington State Cougars vs Wyoming Cowboys Point Spread Picks

The Wyoming Cowboys have had to replace an NFL first round draft pick QB, but brought back nine offensive starters from last season. The Wyoming defense brings back eight starters, and they were one of the best units in the country last year, and looked every bit the part in their opener against New Mexico State. They led 29-0 with just over a minute to play before the reserves allowed a 31-yard TD pass. It was an impressive effort, as Wyoming held New Mexico State to a total of seven first downs, and 135 total yards. If you take out the last drive with reserves, they allowed fewer than 100 total yards. The Cowboys had expected trouble in the air but pounded out 313 yards on the ground. Washington State is in a similar state of flux. They lost a record-setting QB of their own, and return just four offensive starters. Mike Leach has a young and inexperienced QB, and a lot of question marks on that side of the ball, which won't bode well against a very strong defense. Washington State has struggled, who are an ugly 2-10 SU in season openers their last 12 years, and just 2-11 ATS in their last 13 season lid lifters. They have dropped their season opener to FCS teams in two of the last three years. Both of these teams are going to be better on defense than offense, but right now the Wyoming offense as well as the high altitude in Wyoming spells trouble for Washington State. Play Wyoming and the UNDER.

Washington State is home after a dramatic finish to beat Rutgers last week. QB Luke Falk connected with River Cracraft for the go-ahead touchdown with 13 seconds remaining to edge the Scarlet Knights 37-34. Falk was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, finishing with 478 yards passing and four touchdowns. The Cougars are 4-1 ATS in September, plus 4-1 ATS at home against a team with a losing road record. They catch a big break here in facing a weak Wyoming squad. The Cowboys lost their first two games while battling injuries at quarterback. Backup Josh Allen was lost for the season with a shoulder injury in last week's 48-29 loss to Eastern Michigan and starter Cameron Coffman is returning from a knee injury he suffered in the opener. Coffman expects to play but hasn't been 100% in practice all week. Wyoming is on a 5-17 ATS run and is no bounce-back team at 20-43 ATS after a straight-up loss. The Cowboys have played 23 freshmen, tying them with Florida State and North Carolina State for the second-most this season. They will look to run the football to control the ball and the clock behind RB Brian Hill, the Mountain's West's leading rusher with 273 yards and 8.8 yards per carry. Wyoming is also 16-6 UNDER the total after allowing more than 280 yards passing in their previous game. This is a big total as Washington State throws all day long, but even they will have little trouble shutting down a Wyoming team that is averaging 21.5 points per game after playing North Dakota and Eastern Michigan -- and now steps up to face the Pac-12. Back Washington State and the UNDER.