The San Diego State Aztecs march into War Memorial Stadium in Laramie to challenge the Wyoming Cowboys for the Mountain West Conference title. The contest is slated to start on Saturday, December 3rd at 7:45 p.m. ET. The ESPN Network will be showing the match-up for your viewing entertainment. As of this article, the Aztecs are a -7 point favorite and the game’s total sits at 62.
The Wyoming Cowboys obviously won the last match-up with the Aztecs, 34-33. The victory helped cement the Cowboys in the champion game on Saturday. The Cowboys now lead the series between the two schools 19-17.
San Diego State (9-3):
The defending Mountain West champions are going to get their shot at defending their title. The Aztecs won the West division despite losing its last two regular season contests. San Diego State was riding a six-game winning streak, but lost on the road at Wyoming and got crushed 63-31 again at home to Colorado State.
Last weekend against the Rams, quarterback Christian Chapman threw for 183 yards and two scores with one pick. On the season, Chapman hasn’t been asked to carry the Aztec’s offense, but just be smart with the football. The youngster has responded for coach Rocky Long, throwing for almost 1,781 yards with 19 touchdowns and only five picks.
The Aztecs are the 7th ranked running team in the country. In fact, Donnell Pumphrey may be the best back in college football. This year, he has rushed for 1,908 yards and 15 trips to pay-dirt. By the way, his partner in crime Rashaad Penny is no slouch either. Penny has 878 yards on only 110 carries (7.8 ypc) and nine more scores.
When Christian Chapman gets the chance to toss the ball down the field, he looks for his favorite target Mikah Holder. Holder leads the Aztecs with 24 catches for 513 yards and five touchdown grabs. Tight end David Wells contributes in the red zone, catching another four scores from Chapman.
Running the football against San Diego State hasn’t been easy for opposing teams in 2016. The Aztecs are outstanding against opposing tailbacks, ranking 12th in the nation allowing only 113 yards a game. They also are pretty good keeping teams off the scoreboard, giving way to just 20.8 points a match (19th).
Wyoming (8-4):
Craig Bohl’s Wyoming Cowboys have lost two of their last three contests after winning five in a row. Wyoming fell to UNLV on the road, then beat the Aztecs at home, and then lost again on the road to New Mexico in a three-week span.
In the Cowboy’s 56-35 loss to New Mexico, Wyoming got some production from quarterback Josh Allen but nothing to write home about. He connected on 18 of 28 passes for 248 yards, but he was unable to throw any touchdown passes. In 2016, the signal-caller has passed for 2,738 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 picks.
With all the talk going Donnell Pumphrey’s way, some seem to forget about the “other” running back in the Mountain West. Tail back extraordinaire Brian Hill, is quietly having himself an amazing season. So far this year, Hill has racked-up 1,674 yards on 307 carries and has an impressive 21 trips to the back of the end zone.
The Cowboys do throw the football around, and when they do Tanner Gentry is their go-to receiver. The gritty wide out has reeled in 62 balls for just under 1,132 yards and a unit-high 11 scores. Tight end Jacob Hollister gets in the mix as well. The senior from Bend, Oregon has 29 grabs for over 488 yards and six more touchdowns.
Defensively, Wyoming has struggled from the get go. Their secondary is giving up 276 yards a game, which is 117th in the nation. They also are allowing 475 total yards a contest, which is good for the 116th ranking in the nation. The Cowboys better improve on their 199.4 yards rushing allowed on Saturday or Donnell Pumphrey will have a field day.
Trends and Notes:
The Aztecs are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 road games.
The Cowboys are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games.
The Under is 7-3 in the Aztecs last 10 games following a straight up loss.
The Over is 4-0 in Cowboys last 4 games overall.
The Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings between the two schools.
Game Prediction:
Both of these clubs are coming into this Mountain West Championship game after disappointing performances last week. The San Diego State defense looked uncharacteristically porous and Wyoming seemed as if they were looking ahead to this match-up.
In this championship affair for all the marbles, both teams will be ready to go. San Diego State and Wyoming have already played each other in this same stadium two weeks ago. The Cowboys pulled out a 34-33 victory as 11.5 point dogs. Now, Las Vegas has them notched in as 7.5 point dogs once again. Think dog in this Mountain West rivalry and take the Cowboys and enjoy the half point gift from the desert.
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