2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The Arizona State Sun Devils face the Boise State Broncos in the 2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas. This contest will air on ESPN at 8:00 EST on Thursday, December 22nd. Both the Broncos and Sun Devils are not happy to be here. Boise State (11-1) would rather be playing in a BCS bowl and certainly could make the argument that they got snubbed. Arizona State (6-6) lost their final four games of the season, which resulted in the firing of head coach Dennis Erickson. It will be interesting to see if the Sun Devils show up.

Taking a look at the bowl odds, I find a line of Boise State -14 over Arizona State with a total set of 66.5 points.

Boise State

The Broncos will be making their 10th straight bowl appearance after putting together an impressive 2011 campaign. But once again, their field goal kicker cost them a perfect season. Dan Goodale’s 39-yard kick sailed wide right as time expired in a 36-35 loss to TCU on November 12th, their only loss of the season. As a result, Boise State has missed out on a chance to play in a BCS bowl game. The Broncos won their other 11 games all by double-digits, and certainly deserved a spot in the BCS.

Head coach Chris Petersen has compiled a 72-6 record in his first six seasons on the job. He has led them to a pair of BCS bowl wins. The Broncos beat Utah 26-3 last season in the Maaco Bowl, so they’ll be headed back to Sin City for a second straight year, which has to be disappointing for this team. Boise State is 7-4 all-time in bowl games, and all 11 of those postseason berths have come within the last 12 years. Petersen is 3-2 on bowl games as their head coach.

Boise State ranks 9th in the country in total offense (483.1 yards/game) and 16th in total defense (315.6 yards/game). Quarterback Kellen Moore is having a Heisman-worthy season, completing 73.9 percent of his passes for 3,507 yards with 41 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Doug Martin has rushed for a team-high 1,148 yards and 15 scores. Tyler Shoemaker is Moore’s favorite target, especially in the red zone. He has 59 receptions for 959 yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns on the season.

Arizona State

What started as a promising 2011 campaign turned into a sour one for the Sun Devils. Arizona State opened the year at 5-1, which included big wins over then-No. 21 Missouri and then-No. 23 USC. They would split their next two games before closing out the season on a four-game losing streak. All four losses came by 10 points or less, but they were favored in each contest. The last straw for Erickson was a 47-38 home loss to Cal in their season finale in which the Sun Devils gave up 484 total yards. They also committed 11 penalties for 121 yards and four turnovers in a sloppy effort.

Arizona State will be making their first bowl appearance since 2007. They lost to Texas 34-52 in the Hawaii Bowl that year. The Sun Devils had been to four straight bowls before going on a three-year drought. This is a team that many expected to win the Pac-12 South division this season, but in the end they are simply fortunate to be going to the postseason. ASU is 12-11-1 all-time in bowl games. Erickson will be allowed to coach this team in the Las Vegas Bowl, and he is 5-6 in his career in bowl games.

The Sun Devils have had no problem moving the football this season, ranking 24th in the country in total offense (451.0 yards/game). However, they haven’t been able to stop anyone for most of the year. ASU ranks 86th in the FBS in total defense (419.6 yards/game), including 106th against the pass (271.3 yards/game). Quarterback Brock Osweiler has had a solid season, completing 62.8 percent of his passes for 3,641 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Cameron Marshall is the load on the ground, rushing for 1,038 yards and 18 touchdowns on the year. Gerell Robinson leads all receivers with 64 catches for 1,156 yards and six scores.

Betting Trends

The Sun Devils are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog of 10.5 or greater, but 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.

The Broncos are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 bowl games, but 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games overall.

Projected Score: Boise State 40 – Arizona State 26

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