Idaho State vs. BYU: Spread Info, Line, BCS Impact and Predictions

You can throw all the records out the window when the BYU Cougars and Idaho State Bengals play.  In fact, when the 5-2 Cougars host the 2-5 Bengals out of the FCS Big Sky Conference on Saturday, several BYU players may be shattering some school records.

The Cougars struggled a bit to start the season as they followed up a narrow loss to Texas in Week 2 with a blow-out loss to Utah. Since then BYU has gone an impressive 4-0 including a victory over the Pac-12's Oregon State Beavers last week.

Idaho State certainly isn't well-known outside of the school's alumni or followers of the Big Sky, but the Bengals have had a rough go it this season. They are just 1-4 within their conference and were destroyed 64-21 by Washington State in the only game they have played against an FBS team.

The word miracle gets thrown around a lot, but I think it would truly take a miracle for Idaho State to win this game. The only real question is how close to 100 points BYU can get.

Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah

When: Saturday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. EDT

Watch: BYUtv

Spread: BYU (-38)

Many betting services won't even take bets for games that feature an FBS team against an FCS team, but the general consensus is that the Cougars are 38-point favorites. That may seem like a lot, but when you consider that Idaho State lost by 43 to a mediocre Washington State team, taking BYU seems like a no-brainer.

Over/Under: OFF

There is no true over/under available for this game. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that BYU could easily score 60 to 70 points on its own, making any over/under bet pretty unfair.

Key Injuries

Out: BYU TE Richard Wilson (knee - out for season)

Doubtful: BYU LB Ezekiel Ansah (knee)

Questionable: BYU DL Romney Fuga (knee)

BCS/Top 25 Poll Implications

With a record of 5-2 as an independent there is really no hope for BYU to make it to a BCS game. In essence, the Cougars probably would had to have gone undefeated with their schedule in order to have been considered.

They likely would have made it into the Top 25 had they been able to get by Texas in Week 2, but after losing to Utah the following week BYU's Top 25 hopes were basically dashed. There is probably still hope to make it into the polls if the Cougars win out, though, so this is obviously a must win even though it won't impress any voters.

Keys to Idaho State Win

Idaho State honestly has no hope to win this game. I could pretend that they do if they somehow slow down quarterback Riley Nelson and running back JJ Di Luigi, but that simply isn't going to happen.

The only way Idaho State will be able to stop them is when they're sitting on the bench in the third quarter because the Cougars are up by so much. BYU may not be an elite team in college football right now, but if the Bengals won this game it would probably be one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

Keys to BYU Win

As long as the Cougars play their usual game they will have absolutely no issue coming out victorious. If anything, this game will allow them to try some new things on both sides of the ball since they can get away with making some mistakes.

Despite their record the Cougars allow more points than they score, so that is something that has to be addressed. The offense has been much improved since Nelson took over for the struggling Jake Heaps, though, so this will be a good opportunity for BYU to work out any kinks it might have left over.

Prediction

BYU 70, Idaho State 14