Tonight we have the 21st annual Las Vegas Bowl pitting the Boise State Broncos out of the Mountain West Conference against the University of Washington Huskies out of the Pacific 12 Conference. Here is some information about each team using the NCAA FBS production model as a guide to tonight's game.
This is the third consecutive time that the Boise State Broncos have played in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl, with each of the two previous meetings being decisive victories for Boise State over Utah and Arizona State. Boise State finished the regular season at 10-2 playing against an average strength of schedule. Boise State has defeated two top 25 teams (in the NCAA production model - Fresno State and BYU) and their only two losses were by four points to Michigan State and two points to San Diego State. Boise State is currently the #12 most productive team in the nation overall with the #43 ranked offense and the #6 ranked defense.
The University of Washington finished the regular season at 7-5 playing against an average strength of schedule. The Huskies best wins were against currently ranked #18 Stanford and #19 Oregon State and the worst performance was against currently #111 ranked Washington State. The University of Washington is currently ranked #52 overall, with the #81 ranked offense and the #34 ranked defense.
Given Boise State's superior productivity on both offense and defense, the model would predict that the Boise State Broncos will defeat the University of Washington Huskies in this years Maaco Las Vegas bowl.