How will Ashton Jeanty fare against the Penn State defense in the Fiesta Bowl?
The College Football Playoffs resume on December 31st with the Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Boise State. Can the Broncos pull off a shocking upset over the Nittany Lions as double-digit underdogs? Our CFB expert shares his best bet here! Good luck with all of your action!
Closer Look at Each Fiesta Bowl Team
It has been a magical year for the Nittany Lions which should be even better had they finished the job against Ohio State earlier this season. The loss to Oregon in the Big 10 title game was the only game that they looked outmatched.
The Penn State defense has been one of the top defenses in the country all season and looked every bit of that in their opening playoff game against SMU. They are 11th in the country, allowing just 15.93ppg to their opponents. That defense will be tested in this matchup with Boise State, who is 4th in the country in scoring at 39.1ppg.
Boise State relies heavily on its run game, led by Heisman finalist, Ashton Jeanty. He leads a backfield that finished 7th in the country with 250.5 rush yards per game. However, the passing game has not been spectacular. They were just 125th through the air, with 219 yards per game. If they are to hang with this Big 10 powerhouse, they will need to make some timely throws to keep the PSU defense from bottling up Jeanty.
Best Bet: Penn State Nittany Lions -11
We believe that Boise State is simply overmatched in this contest. The Penn State defense should be the toughest defense that Jeanty and company have faced all year.
There is no way that Boise will come close to the 39ppg they are averaging and that will be a problem for them in this game where they are likely to need 24+ to get the win. The Broncos have yet to face as defense as fierce as the Nittany Lions.
The spread being double digits makes us confident that the Nittany Lions won’t have too much trouble here against what we believe to be a much inferior opponent. Let's lay the points with the Nittany Lions in this one!
Key Betting Trends for Fiesta Bowl
PSU is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games when playing as the favorite.
PSU is 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games played in December.
Boise is 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games played in December.
Boise is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games played on a Tuesday.
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Bill Christy is a seasoned bettor who operates his own handicapping business. As a senior writer, Bill provides in-depth analysis and identifies edges across several sports at EatWatchBet, including the NFL, CFB, NBA, CBB, and UFC.
