New Mexico Bowl Betting

Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (6-6)
Opening Line: Fresno State -10.5 / Wyoming +10.5 O/U 54.5
Time: 4:30 PM EST Saturday December 19, 2009 on ESPN

The Fresno State Bulldogs take on the Wyoming Cowboys, who may be one of the weakest bowl teams, in the New Mexico Bowl. The Cowboys did win 2 of their last 3 games, but they only beat one team that finished the season with a winning record and that was Weber State, who is not playing in a bowl. The Bulldogs have a great rushing offense and they won 7 of their last 8 games. Even though the Bulldogs were 1-4 against teams playing in bowl games they did play those teams close, especially TCU. Against ranked teams this season the Cowboys only averaged 7.5 points per game.

This season Fresno State was 6-5 ATS and Wyoming was 8-3 ATS.

Fresno State has the nation's 19th ranked offense, but where they are stellar is running the ball with the nation's 7th ranked rushing offense. RB Ryan Mathews (1,664 yds 17 TD) may be the best back nobody has heard of, but he may be playing on Sundays in the future and he averaged a legit 6.8 yards per carry this season. The Bulldogs are not all about the run, as, QB Ryan Colburn (2,333 yds 18 TD) is solid and his 2 main targets of Seyi Ajirotutu and Jamel Hamler each averaged at least 13 yards per reception. The Bulldogs can light up the scoreboard, as they averaged just over 34 points per game this season. Wyoming does not have a great defense and they are not strong at all at defending the run only ranking 91st in the nation in rushing defense.

Unlike the Bulldogs the Cowboys do not feature a good offense only ranking 112th in the nation. Wyoming will have to run the ball in this game to have any chance to win and that job will have to be done by the RB f Alvester Alexander (503 yds 6 TD) and Brandon Stewart (470 yds 2 TD). The Cowboys' passing offense, led by QB Austyn Carta-Samuels (1,752 yds 7 TD 4 INT), only ranks 100th in the nation. The good news for the weak offense of the Cowboys is the fact that they will face a weak defense in this game, as the Bulldogs only rank 97th in the nation on defense.

If the Cowboys can't run the ball in this game they may be in trouble, as they will not be able to keep the high scoring offense of the Bulldogs on the sidelines. If this game becomes a high scoring one the Bulldogs should easily win.

The Cowboys are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games and the total has gone Under in 4 of the Bulldogs last 6 games.