Boise State Football: Preview prediction, live stream vs. Nevada

Boise State football looks to rebound from its home loss to San Diego State. Historical nemesis Nevada will try to deal the Broncos another painful defeat.

Boise State tumbled far down the Group of Five pecking order after falling to San Diego State at home. The Broncos managed only 229 yards of offense and coughed up three turnovers in the 19-13 defeat to the Aztecs, as they lost a key conference game and fell to 3-2 on the season. With the defeat, Boise State’s shot at a New Year’s Six game is hanging by the thinnest of frayed threads.

Bryan Harsin’s defense holds opponents under three touchdowns on average, while the offense scores more than 37 points per game. Brett Rypien, the veteran quarterback of the Broncos, has been hot and cold over the course of the first half of the season. He is throwing for an average of 311 yards an outing, putting him 10th in the country, but he is just the 39th-most efficient passer.

This week, Boise State tries to rebound from their San Diego State disappointment with a showdown against longtime rival Nevada. The two teams have squared off in three different conferences, and Nevada is still looking for another iconic moment to put alongside 2010.

This year’s Nevada squad is currently 3-3, and an upset against Boise State would put them into the MWC West race right alongside the Aztecs, Hawaii, and defending champion Fresno State. Only two other teams have recovered more fumbles than the seven piled up by the Wolf Pack defense so far this year. But Nevada has also coughed up four fumbles of their own to go with nine interceptions, putting them in the bottom 10 nationally in giveaways.

Can Nevada cut back on their mistakes and deal Boise State a knockout blow that would take the Broncos completely out of the New Year’s Six mix? Here’s how you can watch the Week 7 game between Boise State and Nevada:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 13
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Reno, Nev.
Venue: Mackay Stadium
TV: CBSSN
Live Stream: CBS Sports Live | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

If Nevada is going to pull off the upset at home, they need Ty Gangi to do his best Colin Kaepernick impression and stir up the ghosts of 2010. The Wolf Pack also need to reverse their fortunes on kickoffs, both receiving and kicking, as they rank outside the top 100 in both return average and in kick return defense. The defense also needs to live up to its billing as the seventh-best team in tackles for loss and get plenty of stops in the Boise State backfield.

For Boise State to win at home, they need Brett Rypien to continue doing what he does best, carving up opposing secondaries. Given their poor showing in red zone defense, the Broncos would also do well to just keep the Wolf Pack from getting inside Boise’s 20 altogether.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Boise State -16.5
Over/Under: 61

Prediction

This is not 2010, and Gangi is no Kaepernick. Nevada has been a perfectly respectable team this year, and they are on pace to get to a bowl game for the first time since 2015. But Boise State is going to take out their frustrations of losing to the Aztecs and get back to their prolific scoring ways. Look for the Broncos to cover the spread, but for the defense to shut down Nevada enough that the total points fall under the line.

Final Score: Boise State 44, Nevada 13