Editor's note: Brian Edwards is No. 1 on VI in guaranteed picks with a 15-6 record (71%, +864). Don't miss out on his pay-if-it-wins-only selection for tonight!

With its BCS hopes and unbeaten record on the line, Boise State (5-0 straight up, 4-0 against the spread) comes off an open date to play at Tulsa tonight. ESPN will provide television coverage at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Broncos as eight-point favorites. As of early this morning, most books had Boise favored by nine or 9 ½. Sportsbook.com started the total out at 53 and had the Golden Hurricane at plus-290 on the money line (risk $100 to win $290).

Chris Petersen’s team continues to rack up victories galore on his watch. Since taking over for Dan Hawkins, the Broncos have won 40 of 44 games, compiling a 25-15 spread record during that stretch.

They opened the season with a dominant 19-8 home win over Oregon, followed by a 48-0 bludgeoning of Miami (OH.) as 40-point home favorites. BSU went on the road in Weeks 3 and 4, thumping both Fresno St. (51-34) and Bowling Green (49-14).

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Tulsa (4-1 SU, 2-1-1 ATS) is coming off a 27-10 win at Rice as a 17-point road ‘chalk.’ G.J. Kinne completed 21-of-32 passes for 251 yards without an interception. He found A.J. Whitmore on a 39-yard scoring strike to give backers of the Golden Hurricane a push. Kinne also had a six-yard touchdown run.

The Texas transfer has connected on 64.1 percent of his pass attempts for 1,142 yards with a 10/2 touchdown-interception ratio. But Kinne struggled in Tulsa’s lone defeat, a 45-0 loss at Oklahoma. He threw two interceptions against the Sooners and had just 106 passing yards.

Damaris Johnson is the Golden Hurricane’s premier playmaker. The true sophomore has a team-high 20 receptions for 369 yards and one TD. Johnson had 245 yards of total offense in the win over the Owls and returned a punt for a score in a season-opening win at Tulane.

Boise sophomore QB Kellen Moore has been nothing short of sensational, completing 69.7 percent of his throws for 1,217 yards with a 13/2 TD-INT ratio. His favorite target is Austin Pettis, who has 28 receptions for 378 yards and six touchdowns. Titus Young has 26 catches for 330 yards and four TDs.

Jeremy Avery is carrying BSU’s rushing load, gaining 441 yards on 72 carries. He’s averaging 6.1 yards per carry with one touchdown. Avery, who also has a TD receiving, is getting most of the work since his back-up D.J. Harper went down with a season-ending injury.

Since 2003, Tulsa owns a 6-2 spread record as a home underdog. The Golden Hurricane hasn’t been a home ‘dog since losing 62-21 to Oklahoma in ’07. The week before losing to the Sooners, it beat BYU by a 55-47 count as a 6 ½-point home puppy. Those are the only two home ‘dog situations for Tulsa during Todd Graham’s three-year tenure.

Boise St. is already 2-0 ATS as a road favorite this year. The Broncos went 4-1 versus the number in similar situations last season.

Petersen’s team knows it has to stay perfect to get a BCS bid. A trip to the BCS Championship Game is highly unlikely but if teams galore go down like in 2007, the Broncos can be a part of the conversation if they collect a bunch of style points.

That will certainly be their thinking with a national-television audience tuning in tonight. Senior CB Kyle Wilson told the Associated Press, "We're definitely using this as a spotlight, statement game. We really want to get out there and just prove a point. There are not many games you can play with a spotlight like this game."

Tulsa will be missing senior free safety Charles Davis, who is out for the season after sustaining a severe knee injury in Week 3 against Oklahoma. Davis was the team’s fourth-leading tackler at the time and finished ’08 with 78 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, Graham’s team will be without OT Tyler Holmes. The true sophomore, a pre-season All C-USA selection, has a broken leg and is out indefinitely. Holmes will be replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Brandon Thomas

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--South Carolina owns a 10-4-1 spread record as a road underdog during Steve Spurrier’s tenure. The Gamecocks are 17-point underdogs Saturday at Alabama.

--Ga. Tech will be a home underdog for the first time under Paul Johnson when it hosts Va. Tech in Saturday’s crucial ACC showdown at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Most books had the Hokies as three-point road favorites this morning.

--Idaho remained perfect for our purposes by winning 29-25 at San Jose St. as a 5 ½-point road underdog. The Vandals are now 5-1 SU and 6-0 ATS. They have been underdogs in every game this year, but that changes this week vs. Hawaii. The Warriors were ‘dogs in the 9-10 range early this morning.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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