November 9, 2023 |
Photo – Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas – Courtesy Allegiant Stadium.com
The sports sections of the Las Vegas newspapers delivered a different take on college football this week than say, the Casper Star Tribune.
In Sin City, games are all about the betting line. Although the lead yesterday in the Casper paper took a similar, but more metaphorical, view. “The price of poker is going up,” Craig Bohl was quoted as saying.
The bottom line between the different takes in Casper and Vegas are the same. For a shot at the Mountain West Championship this season, Wyoming must win tomorrow night in Sin City. It’s a tall task. The Pokes have yet to win on the road this season.
Coach Bohl wasn’t bluffing fans this week when he talked about the state of his team. The Pokes are headed to Vegas for a Friday night game inside the lush, $9.1 billion Allegiant Stadium located just off the strip. The Cowboys have yet to show this season that they’re road warriors.
Wyoming is 0-3 on the road this season. On the other side of the coin, the Rebels are 4-and-0 at home.
Of course, in Las Vegas, few people really care about the game. The sporting world in Sin City is all about UNLV basketball and Raiders NFL football.
The Cowboys have one advantage this week. Wyoming has had one extra day to prepare for tomorrow night’s matchup. UNLV made adjustments for the short week after Saturday’s big win at New Mexico. The practice schedule moved up a day from its normal pattern. The Rebels also moved their practices to 8 o’clock at night so that their body clocks are in synch with tomorrow night’s game time. The move gave coaches more time to study tape and draw up the X’s and O’s.
The Cowboys also made adjustments. They practiced indoors this week rather than outside to mimic tomorrow night’s setting in a dome.
Friday’s game will be UNLV’s first time playing at Allegiant Stadium since their 25-23 win over Colorado State on Oct. 21.
Coach Bohl said this week, the focus has been “taking care of business.”
It is Las Vegas, where numbers are king. The Cowboys are a 5.5-to-six-point underdog. The over/under on the game total is set at 50 points. Here’s how handicapper Bruce Marshall, writing for the Las Vegas Review Journal, breaks down the numbers: “The Cowboys are on an 8-3 run against the spread as an underdog and have covered three of their last four overall this season. However, the Rebels are 8-1 ATS this season. Edge: Slight to Wyoming.”
Lay down your money and take your chances. One bet is a sure thing, though. Bigfoot 99 will be on the air with the pregame show at 7 p.m. Kickoff is set for 8:45, Friday night, under the lights, in Las Vegas.
