Here we go again for WSU, as like last year when Jake Dickert left for Wake Forest before the Holiday Bowl, now it's Jimmy Rogers off to Iowa State with Mizzou OC Kirby Moore to take over the HC spot in Pullman after the bowls. Though aside from RB Kirby Voorhees, portal defections look minimal for the Cougs, and note Wazzu traded punches with several heavyweights before landing 6-6. The Utags covered 10 of 12 for new HC Bronco Mendenhall, but were only 6-6 outright, and this minimal spread suggests it's simply pick-the-winner in Boise. The Cougs won this matchup 49-28 last year pre-Mendenhall, and suspect WSU still has some of the spark it displayed later in the season. Play WSU (Potato Bowl at Boise)
Utah State and Washington State both finished 6-6 on the year, but head coach Jimmy Rogers left the Washington State crew after the regular season ended. Defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbitt is going to serve as an interim coach for the bowl game and then depart to become Rogers' defensive coordinator at Iowa State. Coach Bronco Mendenhall is still there for Utah State, and probably the most exciting thing I have to say about Utah State is that they were 10-2 against the spread. That's third best in the nation behind Ohio State and Texas Tech, which was a season's best 12-1 ATS. Quarterback Bryson Barnes started for Utah State all season, and he's playing this game. Give me Utah State to win.
Washington State is without its head coach (Jimmy Rogers, who accepted a new gig) and as many as nine players who have dived into the transfer portal. Stabliity is on the side of Utah State. The Aggies have suffered minimally on the transfer front and have retained Bronco Mendenhall, a bowl veteran as coach. He has split 14 of the games SU, many in which his team was an underdog. The Aggies have been a bettor's best friend this season, going 10-2 ATS. They closed the season with two easy wins and the narrowest of losses to UNLV and Bose State, the Mountain West's top two teams.
