Cactus Bowl 2016: Boise State vs. Baylor TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Plenty of scoring awaits college football fans who stay up Tuesday night to catch the 2016 Cactus Bowl, a contest featuring the Boise State Broncos and Baylor Bears.
Boise State took an unexpected loss to end the season but otherwise had a successful campaign at 10-2 while riding an elite ground game sure to give the Bears some problems.
Those Bears have endured a trying campaign, one that began with head coach Art Briles getting fired before the season. Led by interim coach Jim Grobe, Baylor fell apart down the stretch, losing six in a row and quarterback Seth Russell to injury.
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Through it all, an interesting chess match of sorts awaits fans when the programs collide and seek a positive end to the year.
Cactus Bowl 2016
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 27
Time (ET): 10:15 p.m.
Location: Chase Field, Phoenix
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 66.5
Spread: Boise State (-7.5)
Team Injury Reports
| Dylan Sumner-Gardner | S | Doub Tues |
| Joe Martarano | LB | Out indefinitely |
| Tanner Vallejo | LB | Out for season |
| Gabe Perez | UT | Out for season |
| Skyler Seibold | S | Out for season |
| Evan Tyler | S | Out for season |
| Shock Linwood | RB | Out Tues |
| Terence Williams | RB | Prob Tues |
| Xavier Jones | DE | Ques Tues |
| Pooh Stricklin | WR | Ques Tues |
| Davion Hall | S | Ques Tues |
| Blake Lynch | WR | Out for season |
| Seth Russell | QB | Out for season |
| Eric Ogor | DB | Out for season |
| Byron Bonds | DT | Out for season |
| Johnny Jefferson | RB | Out for season |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Making Amends
For as great as the Broncos looked most of the season, the two losses define it.
At the end of October, the Broncos went down by two points against Wyoming, the team that went on to play in the Mountain West title game. To close the season, the Broncos stumbled to a 27-20 defeat at the hands of Air Force.
The losses certainly didn't come without monster efforts from lead back Jeremy McNichols, who ranks fifth in the nation at 1,663 rushing yards. He punched in 23 touchdowns on a 5.6 per-carry average, making life relatively easy on quarterback Brett Rypien, who threw for 23 scores against six interceptions.
As far as potential distractions for the Broncos go, McNichols' decision to go pro or not isn't something head coach Bryan Harsin will let dominate the talk leading up to the game, as captured by Will Hall of KTVB.com:
As it shouldn't. Boise State can't afford to overlook such a dangerous team in a bowl game. It's important for the continuity of the program to end the season on a high note after a couple near misses sent the train off the tracks.
In all likelihood, McNichols and the Broncos will look to come out swinging and jump ahead, a necessary evil against Baylor's offense—and one that could prove quite beneficial.
Ending on a High Note
The Bears desperately need this win.
The offense lost Russell halfway into the season, ending his campaign in which he had thrown for 20 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Replacement Zach Smith managed 10 scores and six picks.
Normally, the Bears could fall back on running back Shock Linwood, but unlike McNichols, Linwood has decided to sit out of the game and focus on his NFL future. This leaves the task to Terence Williams, who ran for 945 yards and 11 scores.
Losing Tuesday would be the seventh in a row for the embattled program. The team started on a six-game tear despite the controversy, only to go for the mirror opposite as it fell apart around Russell's injury.
Grobe, who will hand the controls to former Temple head coach Matt Rhule, wants to see his guys go out on a high mark, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com).
"I'm really excited that our players have a chance to play in a bowl game this year," Grobe said. "I think we've certainly had some challenges this year, but we've got a wonderful group of young men that I've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with."
To get a win, Baylor will need to execute a balanced attack and hope to keep McNichols off the field while down a pair of key players.
Prediction
A few years ago, the spread out of Las Vegas might have swung in a different direction.
Not now. Boise State is one of the most consistent teams in the nation, its two losses coming by a mere nine total points. Baylor merely continues its downward spiral, unable to have one of its top offensive weapons on the field through nothing other than choice.
Lacking leadership under center and a key weapon, Baylor, odd as it sounds, won't have the efficiency needed to keep pace with the Boise State attack.
Look for McNichols to pull the Broncos ahead in the second half and never look back.
Prediction: Boise State 38, Baylor 30
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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