BYU is one of the favorites in online betting to win the Mountain West Conference in college football but they will have to do so without leading rusher Harvey Unga. The school denied Unga’s request to be readmitted for this fall. BYU will still be a team to follow in Internet betting but they won’t be quite as good without Unga.
Online betting odds list BYU as a longshot to win the national title. The Mountain West has made strides in recent years in college football but they are still not considered on par with the SEC or the Big 12. BYU is one of the better teams in the conference though and they are always a threat to upset a big name school in Internet betting odds. Losing their leading rusher though does hurt. Unga is the leading rusher in school history with 3,455 career yards. He withdrew from the school in April saying that he had violated the school’s honor code. Unga is engaged to Keilani Moeaki a member of BYU’s women’s basketball team. Moeaki is in the same situation as Unga and neither will be readmitted until January at the earliest.
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall did make a statement about Unga on Wednesday saying. “Harvey has been a great teammate and valuable member of our program the past four seasons. I know returning to BYU to finish his degree is a high priority for him. We wish him the very best and offer our continued support.” Unga would have been a senior this fall but now he may look at entering the NFL’s supplemental draft in mid-July. Not many players are taken in the NFL’s supplemental draft since teams lose a regular pick in NFL Draft next year if they select a player in the supplemental draft. Online betting information indicated that it is more likely that Unga would be signed to a tryout contract with an NFL team.
BYU will look to juniors J.J. DiLuigi and Bryan Kariya to run the ball this year and it could be that freshman Joshua Quezada gets a lot more action sooner than expected. BYU was 11-2 last year but they will now have to replace their quarterback Max Hall and their leading running back in Unga. The Cougars should still be a contender though and a team to consider in online betting.