Utah State Aggies at UNLV Rebels

The Utah State Aggies of the Western Athletic Conference, coming off a dismal campaign and with limited hopes in 2008, cruise over to Las Vegas for a Saturday meetings against the UNLV Rebels of he Mountain West Conference, in the season opener for both teams, starting at 10 PM ET at Sam Boyd Stadium (artificial turf), not far from the Vegas strip.

BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: UNLV -12.5, Total 48

Here are some of the NCAA football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* U-ST has covered six of its last eight games

* U-ST has lost 16 of its last 18 games SU

* U-ST has played four of its last six games UNDER the total

* U-ST has covered its last five road games

* U-ST has lost 22 of its last 25 road games SU

* UNLV has covered one of its last five games

* UNLV has lost its last eight games SU

* UNLV has played eight of its last 12 games UNDER the total

* UNLV has covered six of its last nine home games

* UNLV has lost five of its last six home games SU

* UNLV has played four of its last six home games UNDER the total

What's interesting about Utah State is the fact that they have been able to hang in there most if the time, even when going out on the road. In fact, the Aggies have covered their last five road games, and though you can chalk it up to them being overpriced, you might also make the argument that they're overpriced here as well. UNLV did not finish last season with a flourish, losing eight games in a row, and even though they ranked 68th in passing yards, they were only 11th in points scored (18.2 per game).

Certainly the Aggies have to be on the lookout for either of UNLV's two QB's: Omar Clayton, who threw for 304 yards and ran for 135 more against Colorado State, and Travis Dixon, who, as a freshman, ran for 129 yards against them from his quarterback position and led the Rebels to a come-from-behind victory. But Dixon has not shown the kind of consistency in terms of throwing the ball (53%, 8 TD's, eight INT's) that is going to bring back memories of Randall Cunningham (if you remember that far back in Vegas). And Clayton, who gets the start here, tossed five pickoffs in 95 attempts in 2007.

Utah State counters with a more veteran presence in Sean Setzer, a senior who, according to reports, made great strides in spring and fall practice. And coach Brent Guy will throw in his own change of pace with Diondre Borel, who will bring more of a running presence to the lineup than Setzer, who is a drop-back type.

USU is a spirited team, if it is staying within its own class (lost last year by 51 points to Oklahoma, 52 to Boise State). And even though we respect the ability of Frank Summers to control this game on the ground, we are very uncomfortable laying this many with a team that ended on such a sour note last year. So we're on the "take" with Utah State, the 12.5-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA football betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: UTAH STATE +12.5 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay of www.ebookies.com gives it more than the old college try as a contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)