Boise State vs. UNLV Prediction: College Football Tips for Week 9

After two games on Tuesday, two on Wednesday and two on Thursday, college football fans will be treated to a bonus game on Friday as there are three on the schedule. The game of the night is undoubtedly Boise State vs. UNLV as there is a lot at stake for the Broncos in Sin City.

There are also two Power Four games on the schedule, with Louisville playing Boston College and Rutgers playing a tie against USC. An entertaining evening of football that will serve as a preview of another big event on Saturday.

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10:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)

There is a lot at stake for Boise State as a team and as individuals. The top-seeded conference champions receive byes in the College Football Playoff and this is Boise State's biggest game remaining. The Broncos are favored 31, 22.5, 22, 28 and 19 the rest of the way in my college football power ratings, so this is their biggest test before potentially bouncing back against UNLV later in the conference title game.

It's also a big game for Ashton Jeanty, as the Heisman favorite faces a top-50 UNLV defense in yards per play allowed and a borderline top-25 run defense. The Rebels rank 26th in yards per carry allowed on the ground with 104.4 yards per game allowed and 20th in rush defense.

Jeanty has 1,248 yards on 126 carries for 9.9 yards per pop and 17 rushing touchdowns. UNLV has 16 rushing TDs spread between eight different guys. But UNLV also has 16 passing TDs and Hajj-Malik Williams has 10 of them, along with a team-high four rushing scores. Boise's Maddux Madsen has a TD/INT ratio of 12/2, so he more than held his target as well.

It will also be a big test for Boise State's defense, as UNLV ranks 21st in yards per game. Of course, the Broncos have the second-best offense in the country in that department, so it could be an exciting, back-and-forth affair at Allegiant Stadium.

And honestly, this is what I would look like. UNLV has an impressive record, but they also gave up 44 points to Syracuse and 34 to Utah State, which is the most offense they've ever played in terms of yards per play. They neutralized Kansas, but the Jayhawks are playing much better offensively in October at 7.4 yards per play, so they seem to be getting there under new OC Jeff Grimes.

Boise State gave up 30 to Utah State itself and gave up 82 points in the first two games of the season against Georgia Southern and Oregon. This is a game designed for fireworks in the fast lane.

Selection: Over 66

Other Friday games

Louisville (-6.5, 53.5) at Boston College: Friday's early game will be on the ESPN family of networks with ESPN2 billing. BC has been struggling with Thomas Castellanos' injury for some time now, as they haven't scored more than 21 points in their last five games. Louisville is only 4-3, but the losses to Notre Dame, SMU and Miami are no shame. I lean on the Cardinals at 6.5, but at 7 or higher it's not a problem. I'm not even sure it's a great piece at 6.5.

Rutgers at USC (-14.5, 56): The market told us last week that it didn't believe in Rutgers when UCLA took a lot of lopsided money and then won resoundingly. But I'm also not sure many believe in USC or Lincoln Riley at this point. The 14.5 seems like a lot considering what we've seen from the Trojans in the more physical Big Ten. I'm leaning towards U56 here, where Rutgers can run the ball enough to slow the game down and play a little defense, but the passing game is non-existent. However, the Rutgers defense has been quite poor in Big Ten play, so it will be close unless their effort continues to rise to around 58.5.