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**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:05 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Opening Line Report - Week 8
By Marcus DiNitto

At 7-0 against the spread, Colorado is the only college football team in the county to have cashed tickets for bettors in every game it has played this season. Most sports books are holding off on hanging a number on this week’s game at Stanford until they know more about the status or Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey.

John Avello, vice president of race and sports at the Wynn and the first oddsmaker to post college football lines in Las Vegas each week, says if McCaffrey is a go, Stanford will be about a 5- or 6-point favorite vs. the Buffaloes. If McCaffrey is sidelined again, we’re looking at the home side laying a field goal or less.

Avello said he doesn’t worry about a team’s ATS record unless it’s a team people bet on every week. Colorado doesn’t fit that category.

"If I see a team is being keyed on, then I will make adjustments. But that’s not the case right now," Avello said.

Wherever Saturday’s spread lands, Vegas books have been impressed with the job Mike MacIntyre is doing in his fourth year at Boulder. After posting losing records in his first three seasons, the Buffs sit at 5-2 straight up overall, 3-1 in the Pac-12 and in position to make a run at the conference title. "It looks like he’s got this team going in the right direction," said Avello.

Added Ed Salmons, oddsmaker at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, "Love the coach. The coach has done a great job. They were ready to fire him after last year. If you read the preseason magazines and articles, they all had him on the so-called hot seat....He took over such a bad team in Colorado, it just took longer to build it than most people realized."

Here are a few more games on the college football Week 8 card that are on our radar:

Texas A&M at Alabama (-16.5)

Avello opened Alabama -17 on Sunday and tweaked the line in Texas A&M's direction on Monday.

While Avello is with everyone else when he calls Alabama the class of college football, Salmons thinks the Tide could be in for a challenge in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

"The kind of team that gives Alabama the most problems historically are teams that play no-huddle and fast, and Texas A&M had a bye week last week. I can see this being a game," Salmons said.

"(The Aggies are) going to have to play a perfect game (to beat Alabama), which is asking a lot. But I think they can stay within the spread. This spread is a little inflated."

N.C. State at Louisville (-19.5)

Avello installed Louisville -17.5, but watched favorite money pour in early and was up to -19.5 on Monday. He wasn’t surprised and says the line may not be done moving.

N.C. State has trouble scoring, while Louisville puts up 60 for fun.

"At first when I looked at this game I said, ‘You know what, N.C. State might have a chance to hang around with this team’. But now I’m not so sure," Avello said. "I thought 17, 17.5, 18 looked like the right number – right now I’m not so sure..."There’s a lot of Louisville backers right now. This game sees 20 – at least 20."

In fact, one book – CG Technology – was already dealing Louisville -20 as of this Monday afternoon writing.

It’s a similar situation to the one the Wolfpack were in last week, when they were bet against as big underdogs at Clemson. Kicker Kyle Bambard missed a 33-yard chip shot that would have won the game and N.C. State ended up losing in overtime.

After that heartbreaking loss coupled with Louisville’s lackluster effort in a 24-14 win over Duke on Friday night, the psychological edge may go to the Cardinals on Saturday.

"It seems like a no-win situation for (N.C. State) this week," Salmons said. "The way they lost that game just has to be so disappointing for the effort they put into that game and to lose. Louisville played so bad Friday night, I would think (coach Bobby) Petrino’s going to be cracking the whip this week at practice – they slept walk through that game. So I think N.C. State’s going to be on the defensive this week."

TCU at West Virginia (-4.5)

Like Colorado, West Virginia has not caught a lot of people’s attention despite an impressive first half of the season. The Mountaineers are 5-0 SU and ranked No. 12 in the nation.

They were bet up from the Wynn’s opening number of -4 for next week’s home game against TCU.

With a favorable schedule that’s included three home games, a neutral-site game far closer to its campus than BYU’s, two bye weeks, and most significantly, mediocre competition – Avello isn’t sold.

"I don’t think they’re that good. Their schedule has been relatively easy," Avello said.

After TCU, West Virginia’s second-half slate includes games at Oklahoma State, at Texas, vs. Oklahoma and vs. Baylor, and the Mountaineers’ bubble may be about to burst.

"They’re going to end up with two, three losses," Avello predicts.

Arkansas at Auburn (-8.5)

The line on this SEC clash bounced around at the Wynn from Avello’s opening number of 8.5 to as high as 9.5 and then back to the opener.

After a horrendous season last year, Auburn has put together a solid 2016 so far. The Tigers have won three straight games, and their two losses are against still-undefeated Clemson and Texas A&M. They are 5-1 ATS, as they covered as 7.5-point dogs in a 19-13 opening-week loss to Clemson.

Avello believes in coach Gus Malzahn and likes the way the Auburn defense is playing.

"They could run the table until they get to the last game (at Alabama)," he said. "But this week they have Arkansas at home. Anytime you play an SEC team, it’s never easy and it’s never easy to figure out."

Ole Miss at LSU (-5.5)

LSU is another SEC team that may have been written off too soon.

"Fournette’s been out, the coach is gone and the team is playing really well," Avello said. "I expected the team to play really well, though."

The Tigers opened -4 vs. Ole Miss at the Wynn and were bet up to -5.5. They were listed as high as -6 at other books Monday.

Avello said the expectation of Fournette coming back plus a disappointing showing by Ole Miss at Arkansas last week are the reasons for the early move in LSU’s direction. Fournette is worth a "couple of points" to the betting line, according to the oddsmaker.

Last week, the Rebels were bet from -6.5 to -10 at the Razorbacks and lost outright, 34-30

"Mississippi losing at Arkansas was not a good loss," Avello said.

Early line moves

Here are games that saw the point spread move 2 points or more in the favorite’s direction in the first 20 hours of wagering at the Wynn.

N.C. State at Louisville
Opening line: Louisville -17.5
After 20 hours: Louisville -19.5

UTEP vs. UT-San Antonio
Opening line: UT-San Antonio -7.5
After 20 hours: UT-San Antonio -10

Middle Tennessee State vs. Missouri
Opening line: Missouri -4.5
After 20 hours: Missouri -6.5

Here are games that saw the point spread move 2 points or more in the underdog’s direction in the first 20 hours of wagering at the Wynn.

UL-Lafayette vs. Texas State
Opening line: UL-Lafayette -9.5
After 20 hours: UL-Lafayette -6.5

Charlotte vs. Marshall
Opening line: Marshall -18
After 20 hours: Marshall -14

Houston vs. SMU
Opening line: Houston -23.5
After 20 hours: Houston -21

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:06 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

ACC Report - Week 8
By Joe Williams

2016 ACC STANDINGS
Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under
Boston College 3-3 0-3 2-3-1 2-4
Clemson 7-0 4-0 4-3 2-5
Duke 3-4 0-3 4-3 1-6
Florida State 5-2 2-2 3-3 3-3
Georgia Tech 4-3 1-3 3-2-1 3-2-1
Louisville 5-1 3-1 3-2-1 5-1
Miami (Fla.) 4-2 1-2 4-2 3-3
North Carolina 5-2 3-1 4-3 3-4
North Carolina State 4-2 1-1 5-1 3-2-1
Pittsburgh 5-2 2-1 2-5 6-1
Syracuse 3-4 1-2 3-4 2-5
Virginia 2-4 1-1 3-2-1 2-3-1
Virginia Tech 4-2 2-1 3-3 3-3
Wake Forest 5-2 2-2 4-3 3-4

Miami-Florida at Virginia Tech (Thurs. - ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET)
Two weeks ago this game appeared to be shaping up as a battle of unbeatens in the Coastal Division. Miami lost their rivalry game against Florida State on a last-second blocked extra point, and followed it up with an egg-laying against North Carolina last week, so Mark Richt and the Hurricanes suddenly find themselves on the ropes. Virginia Tech isn't quite spinning out of control, but a shocking loss in the dome in Syracuse last week, a decisive loss at that, casts doubt on the championship aspirations of the Hokies. They still might come away with the Coastal Division title, having beaten UNC already. This Miami-Virginia Tech is always important, and this season is no exception. Two losses in the Coastal doesn't mean you're out of the hunt, but a third loss will be too much to overcome.

The Hokies generally bring their best to the national showcase game on Thursdays, posting a 21-10 ATS mark in their past 31 appearances on Thursday. Miami has covered five of their past seven conference battles, and they're 4-1 ATS in their past five meetings with the Hokies. The under has cashed in four straight Thursday games for Miami, and the under is 5-1 in their past six against winning teams and 13-6 in their past 19 ACC battles. For the Hokies, the over is 4-1 in their past five at Lane Stadium, but the under is 19-7 in their past 26 on Thursday and 39-18-1 in their past 58 league outings.

North Carolina State at Louisville (ABC, 12:00 p.m. ET)
Poor Kyle Bambard. The kicker for North Carolina State had a chance to propel Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack to a signature win at Clemson last week, but instead he saved the league's remaining unbeaten team from a debilitating defeat. Bambard missed the potential game-winning field goal, the teams went to overtime and N.C. State could not finish off the upset. The Wolfpack look to rebound in a tough place, but they're 9-4 ATS in their past 13 road games and 4-0 ATS in their past four despite last weekend's loss. Lousville is 5-2-1 ATS in their past eight overall, but just 3-7 ATS in their past 10 conference tilts, 1-6 ATS in their past seven at home against a team with a winning road record and 0-5 ATS in their past five in October. That includes last week's uninspiring 24-14 win against Duke last Friday at Papa John's Stadium. If you like totals, the 'over' is 4-1 in State's past five against winning teams and 6-2-1 in their past nine overall. Despite an under last week, the over is 6-1 in Louisville's past seven conference games, 5-1 in their past six against teams with a winning mark and 6-1 in their past seven on fieldturf. Louisville is favored by 19 as of Wednesday morning with a total of 65.

Syracuse at Boston College (ACC Network, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Head coach Dino Babers has Syracuse on the right track, and it certainly showed last weekend in a home victory over Virginia Tech. The Orange snapped a two-game losing streak with a stunning 31-17 win over Virginia Tech despite entering as 23-point underdogs at home. But can they win on the road? The Orange enter 1-2 SU/ATS in three road outings, and they are 3-7 ATS in their past 10 road outings. The 'Cuse meet a B.C. team with a stout defense and two weeks to prepare for this game. The Eagles were trampled by Clemson last time out, and they were routed 49-0 at Virginia Tech, but in their four other games against teams of the same ilk, the defense has allowed 9.3 points per game (PPG). Defense hasn't been a hallmark of Orange football, as they had allowed 24 or more points in five straight games against FBS teams until last weekend's win. Boston College is just 1-6-2 ATS in their past nine home games and 0-5-1 ATS in their past six ACC battles. B.C. has lost 11 straight conference games dating back to Nov. 29, 2014, when they beat, you guessed it, Syracuse at home by a 28-7 score Nov. 29, 2014. The Eagles enter favored by five as of Wednesday morning, and the public has been betting Syracuse at a near two-to-one clip.

North Carolina at Virginia (ACC Network, 3:00 p.m.)
The Tar Heels were jammed up at home by the Hokies of Virginia Tech and Hurricane Matthew two weeks ago. They then hit South Florida to battle the Hurricanes last weekend, and had much better results. The Tar Heels bounced back with a 20-13 win at Miami, re-gained Top 25 status and have to feel good heading to Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. The Heels opened as 10-point favorites, but the line is down to eight as of Wednesday morning. North Carolina is 1-4 ATS in their past five following a cover in their previous game, and 1-5 ATS in their past six on the road against a team with a losing home record. Despite last weekend's non-cover, the Cavaliers of UVA enter 7-1 ATS in their past eight conference tilts, 6-1 ATS in their past seven against teams with a winning overall record and 9-2-1 ATS in their past 12 overall. The Heels are 5-1 ATS in their past six in this series, but the Heels are just 3-7 ATS in their past 10 trips to Charlottesville.

Bye Weeks
Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:06 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Big 12 Report - Week 8
By Joe Williams

2016 BIG 12 STANDINGS
Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under
Baylor 6-0 3-0 2-4 1-5
Iowa State 1-6 0-4 4-3 4-3
Kansas 1-5 0-3 2-4 1-5
Kansas State 3-3 1-2 2-4 2-4
Oklahoma 4-2 3-0 2-4 4-2
Oklahoma State 4-2 2-1 3-3 4-2
Texas 3-3 1-2 4-2 4-2
Texas Christian 4-2 2-1 1-5 4-2
Texas Tech 3-3 1-2 4-2 3-3
West Virginia 5-0 2-0 2-3 2-3

Oklahoma State at Kansas (FOX Sports 1, 12:00 p.m. ET)
The Cowboys hit the road for Lawrence looking to add to the misery for the Jayhawks. OK State is favored by 24 points as of Wednesday morning despite the fact they are 1-5 ATS in their past six conference games and 3-7 ATS in their past 10 games overall. The Jayhawks have also covered just three of their past 10 games, and they're 1-4 ATS in ther past five inside the Big 12. The home team has covered five straight in this series, but the Cowboys are 10-3 ATS in the past 13 in this series with the favorite 9-3 ATS in the past 12 meetings. The trends on the total differ between the teams. The over is 8-1 in OK State's past nine Big 12 battles, and 4-1 in their past five against teams with a losing record. The over is 10-3 in their past 13 games overall. For Kansas, the under is 5-0 in the past five while going 5-1 in their past six conference tilts and 6-0 in their past six against teams with a winning overall record.

Texas at Kansas State (ESPN2, 12:00 p.m.)
The eyes of Texas might not be smiling completely, but they're at least slightly happier following a solid 27-6 win and cover against Iowa State last weekend to snap a three-game losing skid. Both teams in this game enter at 3-3, looking to stay above .500 and in contention for a notable bowl games. The Longhorns have covered five of their past seven overall, but they're just 2-6 ATS in their past eight away from Austin. The Wildcats have managed an impressive 42-19-1 ATS mark in their past 62 conference battles, but they're just 2-5 ATS in their past seven overall. Texas hasn't had a lot of luck in recent seasons against K-State, and that's perhaps why the Longhorns enter as a field-goal underdog. Texas is 2-7 ATS in the past nine meetings and 0-4 ATS in their past four trips to Manhattan while the home team is 4-0 ATS in the past four meetings and the favorite is 4-0 ATS in the past four in this series.

Texas Christian at West Virginia (ABC or ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. ET)
West Virginia has quietly amassed a 5-0 record and they're up to No. 13 in the rankings, but not many outside of the Wild and Wonderful state have taken notice. Perhaps a resounding win against a wounded, yet still dangerous TCU team will earn some respect. TCU didn't look very impressive on the road at Kansas last week, barely escaping with a 24-23 win over the lowly Jayhawks. TCU is just 1-5 ATS in six games. West Virginia covered last week for the first time in four games, routing Texas Tech by a 48-17 count in Lubbock. They're 3-0 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown this season, but just 1-2 ATS. In fact, while the public has bet West Virginia up from 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 as of Wednesday morning, remember the Mountaineers are just 1-7 ATS in their past eight against teams with a winning record, 2-5 ATS in their past seven overall and 6-20 ATS in their past 26 home games against a team with a winning road mark. The under is 4-1 in TCU's past five on the road, while the under is 12-3 in West Virginia's past 15 at home and 16-5 in their past 21 conference tilts.

Oklahoma at Texas Tech (FOX, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Oklahoma heads down to Lubbock looking to add to the woes of the Red Raiders. Texas Tech was belted 48-17 last weekend by West Virginia, and they have dropped two in a row after winning their league opener Sept. 29 against Kansas. The Sooners have bounced back after losses to Houston and Ohio State earlier in the season, winning three in a row to open conference play while going 2-1 ATS. Oklahoma has covered eight of their past 10 conference games while going 5-2 ATS in their past seven on the road. Texas Tech is 5-1 ATS in their past six inside the conference and seven of their past 10 overall, but they have failed to cover in six straight against a team with a winning record. The over is 5-0 in the past five meetings in this series, while the over is 5-2 in Oklahoma's past seven road games and 34-16-1 in the past 51 conference battles. For TTU, the over is 11-3 in their past 14 at home and 14-6 in their past 20 overall.

Teams on a bye
Baylor, Iowa State

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:06 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Big Ten Report - Week 8
By ASA

2016 BIG 10 STANDINGS
Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under
Illinois 2-4 1-2 3-3 2-4
Indiana 3-3 1-2 3-3 1-5
Iowa 5-2 3-1 3-4 3-4
Maryland 4-2 1-2 2-4 1-5
Michigan 6-0 3-0 4-2 5-1
Michigan State 2-4 0-3 1-5 2-4
Minnesota 4-2 1-2 2-3-1 2-4
Nebraska 6-0 3-0 4-1-1 1-5
Northwestern 3-3 2-1 3-3 2-4
Ohio State 6-0 3-0 4-2 3-3
Penn State 4-2 2-1 2-3-1 5-1
Purdue 3-3 1-2 2-4 5-1
Rutgers 2-5 0-4 2-5 4-3
Wisconsin 4-2 1-2 5-1 2-4

Ohio State (-20) at Penn State – (ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Penn State – PSU had last week to prepare for this huge home game. We’re guessing they’ll try and get the ground game going with RB Saquon Barkley against an Ohio State defense that allowed over 230 yards rushing last week at Wisconsin. Barkley was “struggling” a bit heading into his most recent game vs Maryland. He had 4 consecutive “non-100 yard” games before exploding for 202 vs the Terps. On the defensive side of the ball, the Nittany Lions have struggled to stop the run which is not a winning recipe when playing Ohio State.

In their 3 Big Ten games, the Penn State defense has given up 170, 228, and 326 yards on the ground. Now they must attempt to slow down the Big Ten’s top rushing offense with the Buckeyes putting up 300 YPG on the ground on 6.0 YPC. Being as banged up as they’ve been, that might be a tough task for the Nits. They have been without all of their starting LB’s due to injuries, however there is a chance that Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda could return on Saturday. We’re told they are getting close to coming back. If they do return, it would be the first time since the season opener they’ve played together. They’ll need those two back if they want to have a chance to slow down Ohio State’s running game.

Ohio State – The schedule makers are not making it easy on the Buckeyes. This is the second straight week they are on the road vs a team coming off a bye. Last week they led Wisconsin for only 6 minutes of the 60 minute game (regulation). They were outgained by the Badgers and allowed Wisconsin to grind out 236 yards on the ground. The Ohio State defense came into the game allowing under 100 YPG rushing. Despite being outplayed by Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium, the Buckeyes came out with an OT win. Amazingly, it was the Bucks 17th straight Big Ten road win and Urban Meyer’s 20th consecutive road win overall. Their last conference road loss came back in 2011 which is an astounding accomplishment.

The Buckeyes are laying a big number here and it’s the 16th time in their last 17 road games they’ve been favored. It’s also the 4th straight time that OSU has been a double digit favorite over Penn State. After covering their first 4 games of the season, the Buckeyes lost each of their last 2 games to the spread vs Indiana and Wisconsin. Their number remain dominating though as they are outgaining their opponents by an average of 236 YPG and 2.5 YPP. The OSU pass defense has been phenomenal allowing only 159 YPG but have shown some vulnerability in stopping the run. While their overall rush defense numbers are very solid (121 YPG) the two good running teams they’ve faced this year, Wisconsin & Oklahoma, have moved the ball well on the ground.

Last Year – Ohio State was favored by -17.5 at home last year and won easily 38-10. Now they are favored by more on the road at PSU this year than they were last season at home. As expected, the Buckeyes are 29-0 SU the last 29 times they’ve been a road favorite of -20 or more and a solid 18-10-1 ATS in those games. This is THE LARGEST underdog Penn State has EVER been at home. The closest was 2 years ago when they were +14 at home against these Buckeyes.

Inside the Numbers – Since joining the Big Ten, Penn State is just 7-16 vs Ohio State and just 8-15 ATS in those games.

Wisconsin (-4) at Iowa – (ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET)

Wisconsin – Can the Badgers get up off the mat after last Saturday’s brutal home loss to the Buckeyes? That will possibly be the #1 key to this game. They opened as a 3-point road favorite in this game and as of this writing have pushed up to -4 at some spots. Wisconsin played OSU toe to toe last week and by many accounts actually outplayed the Buckeyes. The Badgers, who were 10-point underdogs, were actually tied or ahead in regulation for all but 6 minutes and 15 seconds. Wisconsin outgained OSU last Saturday including rolling up 236 yards on the ground vs a Buckeye defense that was allowing 98 YPG rushing coming into the game.

Defensively they held Ohio State to 5.5 YPP but really had trouble putting pressure on JT Barrett. That was partly due to the fact that LB Vince Biegel, UW’s top pass rusher, was out for his second straight game due to an injured foot. Biegel has progressed well after his surgery a few weeks ago and actually is slated to play this weekend at Iowa if all goes well in practice this week. The Badgers dropped to 4-2 on the year, however their 2 losses came at the hands of #2 Ohio State and #4 Michigan by just 7 points each. QB Alex Hornibrook looked much better last week after recovering from a bruised sternum suffered early on in the Michigan game. That injury was kept under wraps until late last week and explains why he looked so poor vs the Wolverines.

Iowa – The Hawkeyes offense was struggling big time going into last week’s game vs Purdue but they couldn’t ask for a better remedy than having to face the porous Boilermaker defense. After failing to top 21 points in three of their previous four games, the Hawkeyes erupted for 49 points on 520 yards. Iowa had 6 possessions in the first half and scored TD’s on 5 of them to lead 35-7 at half. However, the Hawkeyes, as might be expected, came out flat after halftime getting outscored 28-14 in the 2nd stanza.

The Iowa defense really struggled in the 2nd half allowing the Boilermaker offense to score 4 TD’s on 389 yards. Because of that poor 2nd half, Iowa only outgained Purdue by 15 yards, the first time they’ve outgained an opponent this season. Purdue rolled up 505 total yards with only 47 of those coming on the ground.

On the other side, Iowa destroyed the Boilers terrible rush defense to the tune of 365 yards on the ground. They’ll have a much tougher go of it this week facing a Wisconsin defense allowing 106 YPG rushing and that includes facing the likes of LSU, Michigan, and Ohio State. Iowa returns home where they have lost 2 straight at the hands of North Dakota State and Northwestern.

Last Year – The Badgers were a 5-point favorite at home last year and lost to the Hawkeyes in a low scoring affair 10-6. Wisconsin outgained the Hawks by 100 yards but turned the ball over 4 times including at the Iowa 1-yard line going in for the winning score in the 4th quarter.

Inside the Numbers – The Hawkeyes have been tabbed home underdogs just twice since 2013. Both of those games were vs Wisconsin and the Badgers won both 28-9 and 26-24. Going back further, Iowa has been a home dog 38 times since the start of the 1989 season. They are just 9-29 SU in those games (18-18-2 ATS). Wisconsin has won 12 of their last 13 SU as a road favorite (8-4 ATS)

Rutgers at Minnesota (-19) – (ESPNU, 12:00 p.m. ET)

Minnesota – In the battle of back up QB’s last Saturday, Minnesota’s Conor Rhoda topped Maryland’s Tyrell Pigrome 31-10. Pigrome had the better numbers throwing for 161 yards and rushing for 71 yards while Rhoda completed just 7 passes for 82 yards and had negative yards rushing. Pigrome, however, committed 2 of the Terps 3 turnovers while the Gophs didn’t have a giveaway. You wouldn’t look at the box score and come to the conclusion that Minnesota won this game by 3 TD’s. The Gophs had just 311 total yards, averaged less than 5 yards per play, completed only 7 passes and converted on only 29% of their third down plays yet still put up 31 points.

The offense was hoping to get starting QB Mitch Leidner back this week after sitting out with a concussion last week although we’ve been told that looks like a long shot. They are preparing as though Rhoda will get the start again. The Minny defense continued to play very well allowing just 10 points and less than 4 YPP. So far in Big Ten play the Gophers have allowed 7, 10, and 23 (in regulation) points. They held both Iowa & Maryland to just one offensive TD each.

Since getting back to full strength in the defensive backfield before the Iowa game (suspended and injured players returning), they have allowed just 142 and 161 yards passing. That was the strength of their defense last year as well as they allowed just 180 YPG through the air.

Rutgers – And the beat goes on for the Scarlet Knights. They were whipped again, this time by a lower tier Big Ten team with Illinois rolling to an easy 24-7 road win. That loss dropped Rutgers to 0-4 in the Big Ten and they have been outscored 174-14 in those four games! If that doesn’t tell you how bad Rutgers has been in conference play, how about this. They are last in scoring offense (3.5 PPG), last in scoring defense (43.5 PPG), last in total offense (231 YPG), and 13th (second to last) in total defense (486 YPG).

That pretty much tells the story for new head coach Chris Ash and his 2016 Rutgers team. The amazing part is, despite getting outscored by a whopping 160 points in league play, the Knights have actually outgained 2 of their 4 Big Ten opponents (Iowa & Illinois). They were also 2-1 heading into conference play. So with an offense averaging barely over a FG per game in the Big Ten, a change is a no-brainer and that’s what Ash has done for this week’s game at Minnesota.

QB Chris Laviano will take a seat and sophomore Gio Rescigno will get his first career start. Rescigno played the entire 2nd half of last week’s game vs Illinois and went 10 for 18 and led Rutgers on their first TD drive since September 24th! We do know this, it would be nearly impossible to do any worse for an offense that ranks 127th (out of 128) averaging 298 YPG.

Last Year – No meetings since Rutgers joined the Big Ten.

Inside the Numbers – This is rarified air for the Gophers. Since 2006 they’ve been favored by -17 or more just 5 times and failed to cover 4 of those. They also lost 2 of those 5 games outright. Over their last 48 games dating back to mid-season 2012, Rutgers is just 19-29 ATS. Going way back to 1980, our database tells us that Rutgers is just 3-77-1 SU and 32-48-1 ATS as underdogs of 17 or more (0-3 ATS this year).

Indiana at Northwestern (-2.5) – (BTN, 12:00 p.m. ET)

Northwestern – The Cats opened as 3 point favorites in this one and they have since dropped to -1.5. Northwestern is coming off impressive back to back road wins (with a bye in between) winning at Iowa and at Michigan State. While those are tough spots to win, if we’re talking last year, wow. This year, both Iowa and MSU look to be down quite a bit, both have lost back to back home games, so it’s not overly surprising. The way the Cats won last week was something that caught our eye. They got down 14-0 in East Lansing and then went on a 33-3 run into the 3rd quarter to build up a 33-17 lead. Sparty then cut that lead to 33-31 and the Wildcats then returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD and went on to win 54-40.

Where the heck was this NW offense early in the season? They started the year just 1-3 and were averaging only 16 PPG. Over the last 2 games they’ve rolled up 92 points on 852 yards. They are 19 of 38 on third down (or 4th) in those games which is a big reason why they have put up the numbers they have. They’ve been able to keep their offense on the field. Where would NW be right now if they had that type of offensive production early in the year? Probably undefeated as their 3 losses on the season have come by a combined 14 points.

RB Justin Jackson leads the Big Ten in rushing and QB Clayton Thorson is leaps and bounds better than last year. He’s improved his completion percentage by 8% (50% to 58%), his yards per attempt has gone from 5.2 to 6.9, and he already has more TD pass this season (11) than he had all of last year (9). Now if the Cats can shore up their defense (allowing nearly 100 more YPG this year than last) this team will be very dangerous from this point on.

Indiana – Who thought when the season started we’d be discussing Northwestern’s potent offense and subpar defense while also focusing in on Indiana’s much improve defense and “struggling” offense. After 3 conference games, Northwestern’s offense ranks ahead of Indiana in both YPG and PPG. On the flip side, Indiana’s defense ranks ahead of NW in both YPG and PPG. What world are we living in? Two weeks ago the Hoosiers held OSU to their lowest yards per play output of the year. Last week they held Nebraska to 5.0 YPP and also held them scoreless in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. If it weren’t for a pick 6 by the Huskers in the 1st quarter, Indiana may have pulled the upset.

The IU defense has been susceptible to the run allowing 188 YPG, however those numbers are even skewed a bit as OSU rolled up nearly 300 on the ground. In their last 2 games, the Hoosier defense held the Buckeyes 11 points below their season average and Nebraska 8 points below theirs. The problem has been the offense scoring only 17 and he 22 points in those games. Their other Big Ten game, a win over MSU, the Hoosiers were only able to score 24 and only 21 in regulation. Much of the problem has been the inconsistency of QB Richard Lagow who has thrown 9 interceptions in his last 4 games inlcluding 2 last week vs Nebaska. We never thought we’d say it but it looks like Northwestern will have the advantage on offense in this game while Indiana will have the advantage on defense.

Last Year – These two haven’t met since 2012 when Northwestern won big 44-29.

Inside the Numbers – The Wildcats have won 8 of the last 9 in this series. 7 of the last 9 in this Big Ten battle have been decided by a TD or less. Northwestern is just 7-17 ATS their last 24 home games.

Illinois at Michigan (-39) – (BTN, 3:30 p.m. ET)

Michigan – The Wolverines are coming off a bye after beating Rutgers 78-0 two weeks ago. Michigan is 3-0 in the Big Ten and have outscored their 3 opponents 141-17! Michigan has outgained each of their seven opponents by an average of 250 YPG. They have outgained every opponent by at least 100 yards with the exception of Colorado who they outgained by 72 yards. This number has Michigan -36.5 which is the second highest spread for the Wolverines this year only behind Hawaii which had Michigan favored by -38. The Wolves won that game 63-3. The defense has been lights out all year.

The U of M defense is the only team in the entire country to allow under 4 YPP coming in at 3.58 YPP which is by far the best in the nation. Florida is next best allowing 4.14 YPP. The Wolves are also by far #1 in YPG allowed at 212 which is a full 33 yards better than Army which is slotted at #2. They also lead the country in sacks per game at 4 and 3rd down conversion rate allowing opponents only 12%. Offensively this team is very tough to defend, especially on the ground, where the Wolverines have four players that have at least 250 yards rushing. Their 25 rushing TD’s lead the nation.

Illinois – The Illini got off the schneid last week beating Rutgers after losing four straight leading into that one. Rutgers seems to be the remedy for teams to “get right” and Illinois sort of did that with a 24-7 win. Illinois was outgained by 65 yards in the game but ran only 57 offensive plays to 80 for Rutgers. Starting QB Wes Lunt was on the shelf last week with a back injury. His replacement Chayce Crouch stepped in a “managed” the win over Rutgers completing just 6 passes for 92 yards. Crouch injured his shoulder late in the game at Rutgers and may not play this weekend. If the first two QB’s are unable to step on the field, the Illini would send Jeff George Jr under center and he has never taken a snap in a college football game. That would be a disaster against a defense the caliber of Michigan’s.

The good news for Illinois fans is, both Lunt and Crouch were in full pads at practice on Wednesday and looked OK. The Illinois defense looked better last week, who wouldn’t vs a Rutgers team averaging 3.5 PPG in Big Ten play, giving up just one TD. That was after allowing at least 31 points in four straight games. The Illini are 36.5 point dogs in this one which is the 3rd largest underdog number for Illinois in the last 25 years.

Last Year – These two last met in 2012 when the Wolverines shutout Illinois 45-0.

Inside the Numbers – This is the FOURTH time this season alone that Michigan has been favored by 30 points or more. They are 3-0 ATS in their first 3. For comparison’s sake coming into this year the Wolverines were favored by 30 or more just 12 times since the start of the 200 season. The Illini have been a 30+ point underdog only 5 times since 1980 (2-3 ATS) and just once since 2005.

Michigan State (-3) at Maryland – (BTN, 7:30 p.m. ET)

Maryland – The Terps, under new head coach DJ Durkin, looked like they might be one of the surprise teams in the Big Ten early in the season. They rolled through their first four games with a perfect record. Granted those games were against Howard, FIU, UCF, and Purdue, but they didn’t lose a game none the less. We mentioned that we couldn’t get a good read on how good Maryland might be because of their early competition. Now we have a better idea. Since the 4-0 start, the Terps have played two “middling” Big Ten teams, Penn State & Minnesota, and were trounced by both. PSU beat them 38-14 and the Gophs went into College Park and won 31-10 with both teams playing their back up QB’s. Maryland was dominated in both of those games getting outgained in both by 274 combined yards.

After averaging 43 PPG over their first four games Maryland has put up just 12 PPG their last two games. Part of that drop off can be attributed to the absence of starting QB Perry Hills. He injured his shoulder late in the 2nd quarter of their game at PSU two weeks ago and he has not played since. He’s still questionable this week, however he was listed as the #1 QB on the depth chart earlier this week. The defense actually played fairly well last week. You wouldn’t guess that looking at the scoreboard but the Terps limited Minnesota to just over 300 yards and less than 5 YPP. They are allowing just 4.8 YPP on the season. Very solid but they need help from the offense who needs to get it straight soon.

Michigan State – If Maryland is struggling then MSU is in a complete free fall. Last week’s 54-40 loss at home to Northwestern was Sparty’s fourth straight loss. The crazy part is, they were favored in all 4 games and lost by a combined score of 139-81. It was the first time since 2006 that the Spartans have lost 4 games in a row and our database tells us it’s the first time they have EVER lost four games in a row as a favorite.

Head coach Mark Dantonio is doing whatever he can to jumpstart this team as he inserted freshman Brian Lewerke under center last week for his first career start. Lewerke started fairly well leading MSU to 10 points on 136 yards over his first four drives. Although he also threw a pick 6 on one of those four drives as well. However on his next 4 drives, Michigan State totaled 19 years, punted 3 times and Lewerke was sacked for a safety on the other. He was then yanked and previous starter O’Connor played the remainder of the game. This week both have taken reps with the #1 offense but no decision had been made as of Thursday.

Let’s not blame this all on the offense. The defense isn’t helping as last week’s 54 point outburst by Northwestern was the most points this team has given up since 2003. They’ve allowed 30 or more points in 3 of their 6 games this year after allowing 30 or more in just 6 of their previous 54 games entering this season.

Last Year – MSU has won and covered both meetings between these two. Last year Sparty won 24-7 as a 14.5 point home favorite and in 2014 they won 27-15 as a 10.5 point road chalk.

Inside the Numbers – If MSU loses this game, it will be their 5th consecutive loss as a favorite. As we stated above, the Spartans have NEVER lost 4 straight games as a favorite until last week so 5 in a row would obviously be a first as well. Dating back to the start of last season, MSU is now 3-12-1 ATS their last 16 as a favorite. Believe it or not, this is the first time this season the Terps have been an underdog. They have lost 14 straight games as an underdog (4-10 ATS).

Purdue at Nebraska (-24) – (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET)

Nebraska – While Nebraska comes in with a perfect 6-0 record, their best start since 2001, we’re still not sure just how good this team is. I guess you could say their “signature” win this year was at home vs Oregon 35-32. While that looked like a very good win at the time, the Ducks have since flopped so how good was that win? The only team they’ve beaten that currently has a winning record is Wyoming who comes in at 4-2. They jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead last week on Indiana, with the help of a pick 6, but had to hold on late for the 27-22 win.

The offense was held somewhat in check by the IU defense averaging just 5.0 YPP. After completing over 65% of his passes in the first two Big Ten games, QB Tommy Armstrong struggled big time at Indiana. He completed just 38% of his passes and threw 2 interceptions in the game. It looks like Armstrong and company will get some help on Saturday as the offensive line is close to full strength. Starting left tackle Nick Gates has been out with a bad ankle but practiced some this week and may play.

Starting center Dylan Utter dislocated a finger but should play on Saturday. Armstrong has thrown 65 fewer passes through 6 games this year compared to last and don’t expect that to change this weekend. That because the Huskers average 220 yards rushing on 47 attempts and they are facing a Purdue defense that is allowing their Big Ten opponents to rush for an average of 360 YPG! Expect the ball to stay on the ground a lot on Sunday.

Purdue – The Boilers came into this season with just a 6-30 record over the last 3 seasons. They were actually showing some progress this year with a 3-3 mark through 6 games. Apparently they weren’t showing enough progress as head coach Darrell Hazell was given his walking papers after last week’s 49-35 loss at home to Iowa. It was an interesting move at this point of the season because it’s quite obvious the players like Hazell and definitely hadn’t quit on him. Despite getting down 28-0 and 35-7 at half, this Purdue team battled back to within 14 twice in the second half and had the ball attempting to cut the lead to 7 at one point in the 4th quarter.

WR’s coach Gerad Parker takes over as interim head coach with zero head coaching experience. The Purdue offense has been fairly explosive this year averaging 441 YPG and scoring 34+ points in half their games. The problem has been on the other side of the ball. The Purdue run defense has failed to hold ANY of their Big Ten opponents under 300 rushing yards! They’ve also allowed 50, 31, and 49 points in their 3 conference games.

Last Year – Purdue (+7.5) pulled the home upset last year beating Nebraska 55-45. The Huskers scored first with a FG to lead 3-0 and Purdue never trailed after that.

Inside the Numbers – The Huskers are 2-1 ATS this year as a double digit favorite however entering the season they were just 15-25 ATS in that role the previous 40. This is the largest number Purdue has faced this year by nearly 2 TD’s – they were +11 at home vs Iowa. The Boilers are 6-0 ATS the last 6 times they’ve been a dog of 3 TD’s or more.

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:07 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Pac-12 Report - Week 8
By Joe Williams

2016 PAC-12 STANDINGS
Team SU Conference ATS Over/Under
Arizona 2-5 0-4 1-6 4-3
Arizona State 5-2 2-2 4-3 3-4
California 3-3 1-2 3-3 5-1
Colorado 5-2 3-1 7-0 3-4
Oregon 2-4 0-3 0-5-1 4-2
Oregon State 2-4 1-2 4-2 2-4
Southern California 4-3 3-2 3-4 2-5
Stanford 4-2 2-2 4-2 2-4
UCLA 3-4 1-3 2-5 2-4-1
Utah 6-1 3-1 3-4 3-4
Washington 6-0 3-0 4-2 5-1
Washington State 4-2 3-0 4-2 3-3

Oregon at California (Fri. ESPN, 10:30 p.m. ET)
The Ducks have had two weeks to make adjustments and get back on track after a four-game losing streak, something that is just unheard of in Eugene in recent years. The Ducks head into this game as the only Pac-12 team having failed to cover at least once, going 0-5-1 ATS in six games so far. Despite the struggles, Oregon is an impressive 22-6-1 ATS in their past 29 road games and they're 5-0 ATS in their past five meetings against Cal. The Golden Bears enter this game 9-20 ATS in their past 29 home games while going 1-4 ATS in their past five conference games while going 8-23 ATS in their past 31 following a straight up loss. The under has connected in seven of the past nine meetings in this series. The line is set at 87 1/2 as of Wednesday morning with Cal favored by a field goal.

Colorado at Stanford (Pac-12 Network, 3:00 p.m.)
Colorado heads to 'The Farm' looking for an important victory against a still dangerous Stanford team while staying in the driver's seat in the South Division. Colorado is 1-2 SU on the road this season, but they have covered four in a row away from Boulder. The Buffs have covered five straight conference games while going 5-0 ATS in their past five against teams with a winning overall record. Stanford was walloped in Washington a few weeks ago and stunned at home by Washington State before righting the ship at Notre Dame last week. The Cardinal are 10-4 ATS in their past 14 against teams with a winning record while going 38-18-1 ATS in their past 57 conference tilts. The under is 7-1 in the past eight conference games for Colorado and 8-3 in their past 11 games overall. The over is 5-0 in their past five home games against a team with a winning road record while the over is 4-1 in their past five against teams with a winning record.

Utah at UCLA (FOX, 4:00 p.m. ET)
Utah fought off Oregon State last week for a 19-14 win in Corvallis, but they failed to cover for the second time in the past three games. UCLA has dropped two in a row on the road at Arizona State and Washington State, and they'll be happy to get back home. The Bruins topped Arizona 45-24 last time they were at home, but that was also a game with a healthy QB Josh Rosen. He has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and is questionable for Saturday's game. The Utes are just 2-5 ATS in their past seven conference games and 2-5 ATS in their past seven against a team with a losing record. The Bruins are 2-7 ATS in their past nine games, 1-4 ATS in their past five at home and 1-4 ATS in their past five against teams with a winning record. The road team has covered four straight meetings while the under has cashed in five in a row in the series. As of Wednesday the game is off the board due to Rosen's uncertain status.

Oregon State at Washington (Pac-12 Network, 6:30 p.m.)
Oregon State slinks up Interstate 5 for a battle against playoff-hopeful Washington, and the Beavers have major injury issues at the quarterback position. Oregon State will be down to their third-string QB Marcus McMaryion, as starter Darrell Garretson (ankle) is done for the season and Conor Blount (ankle) is out indefinitely due to a left knee injury. The game is off the board as a result of all of the injury issues, but you can expect the line to be around 30 or more. The Beavers are 5-2 ATS in their past seven, but 5-14 ATS in their past 19 inside the conference and 3-7 ATS in their past 10 on the road. And that's with healthy players. Washington is coming off a bye, and they're 9-1 ATS in their past 10 following a week off. They're also 4-1 ATS in their past five at home, 4-1 ATS in their past five against losing teams and 7-2 ATS in their past nine overall. The Beavs have covered five of their past seven trips to Seattle, but they're 0-4 ATS in the past four meetings.

Washington State at Arizona State (Pac-12 Network, 10:30 p.m.)
The Cougars got off to a terrible start this season, falling to FCS Eastern Washington. However, the Cougs have rattled off three straight conference games to keep fifth-ranked Washington within their sights. First things first before the season-ending Apple Cup, as they need a road win at AZ State. Washington State has covered nine straight against teams with a winning overall record, seven of their past eight on the road and 13 of their past 16 games overall. They have also covered 10 of their past 12 conference tilts. Arizona State has been fine this season as long as they're at home. They were nearly upset at Texas-San Antonio Sept. 16, they were pounded by 21 at USC Oct. 1 and they lost by 24 at Colorado last weekend. At home, AZ State is 4-0 SU/ATS. They enter this game as a touchdown underdog at home. The home team has covered six of the past seven in this series, while the Cougs are 1-5 ATS in their past six visits to Tempe.

Teams on a bye week
Arizona, Southern California

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:08 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

College football four-point stance: Week 8 pointspread picks and predictions
By JOE FORTENBAUGH

Let’s get this out of the way now so that I can move forward with what will be a much-needed therapy session: I’m picking against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide this weekend.

Blasphemy!

Yes, I know exactly what I’m getting myself into. Alabama has lost only 12 games since 2008 while claiming four SEC titles and four national championships. In addition, the Tide enter Saturday’s matchup with Texas A&M off a complete and utter 49-10 road annihilation of a Tennessee program that, just two weeks ago, was the undefeated toast of the country… before it ran into the Aggies.

But I still like Kevin Sumlin’s undefeated (6-0 SU, 4-2 ATS) Aggies this Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Well, at least as far as the spread (+18.5) is concerned.

For starters, Texas A&M is off a bye week, so Sumlin has had two weeks to get ready for a hostile Bryant-Denny Stadium that he silenced in a 29-24 upset victory of the Tide back in 2012.

That bye week nugget is important because Saban is just 8-15-1 ATS during the regular season against conference opposition that is .500 or better and coming off a bye.

Also note that Texas A&M’s last visit to Bryant-Denny resulted in a 59-0 bloodbath defeat, so there’s no doubt in my mind that Sumlin has spent the last two weeks reminding his players of that specific game.

Now, could you please pass me the Pepto-Bismol.

Pick: Texas A&M +18.5

Colorado Buffaloes at Stanford Cardinal

When: Saturday, October 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET
Spread: Stanford -2

Even Heisman hopeful Christian McCaffrey, who did not play at Notre Dame last week and is questionable for Saturday’s meeting with Colorado due to an undisclosed injury, can’t save the Cardinal offense from a Buffaloes defense. Colorado is permitting an average of just 20 points per game this season.

Erratic quarterback play has doomed Stanford with the Cardinal scoring just 13 points per game over their last three outings - two of which were losses at Washington (44-6) and against Washington State (42-16).

Meanwhile, Colorado has covered the spread in every single game this season and is making a serious run at claiming the program’s first Pac-12 championship in school history.

Colorado is 8-0 ATS over its last eight games overall, 5-0 ATS over its last five conference matchups and 4-0 ATS over its last four road dates.

Pick: Colorado +2

Oregon State Beavers at Washington Huskies

When: Saturday, October 22 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Total: 54.0

Forget about Oregon State’s lackluster offense (25.2 points per game) and the fact that it will most likely rain in Seattle on Saturday night, as there are only two things you need to know about this matchup, and both have to do with Washington making a statement.

First, the undefeated and red-hot Huskies (6-0 SU, 4-2 ATS) currently find themselves ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll behind Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson, so the current feeling in the Pacific Northwest may be that Chris Petersen’s Washington program needs to embrace “style points” in an effort to sway the voters into a more favorable ranking.

Second, quarterback Jake Browning currently finds himself listed at 8/1 to win the Heisman Trophy at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, so any additional “stat padding” couldn’t hurt in the signal-caller’s quest to upend Louisville’s Lamar Jackson in the race for college football’s ultimate individual prize.

The Huskies are averaging 49.5 points per game this season and have cashed Over tickets in eight of their last nine outings. Further, the Over is 5-0 in Washington’s last five conference encounters and 5-1 in the team’s last six home dates. Don’t be shocked if the Huskies top the 54 point total by themselves on Saturday night.

Pick: Over 54

Wyoming Cowboys at Nevada Wolf Pack

When: Saturday, October 22 at 10:30 p.m. ET
Spread: Wyoming -4

Washington’s Chris Petersen gets all the attention and affection when it comes to college football head coaches who have taken a sizeable step forward in Year 3 of their respective tenures, but don’t sleep on Wyoming’s Craig Bohl, who is poised to lead the Cowboys to just their third winning season since 2005.

Wyoming is coming off a well-earned bye week after commencing conference play with impressive upsets of Colorado State (38-17) as 5.5-point underdogs and Air Force (35-26) as 13.5-point underdogs.

Nevada, which is an abysmal 0-4 ATS over its last four games overall, is next. The Wolf Pack are just 8-20 ATS over their last 28 games played in the month of October and have dropped three of their last four outings, with the program’s lone win coming against a horrific Fresno State team (27-22) as 8.5-point favorites.

This game will feature a tale of two vastly different offenses, as the Cowboys are averaging a robust 35.5 points per game over their last four outings, while the Wolf Pack are averaging an anemic 17 points over their last four contests. Expect Bohl and his resurgent Wyoming program to climb one step closer toward bowl eligibility this weekend.

Pick: Wyoming -4

Last week: 1-3 ATS
Season: 15-13 ATS

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:08 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Sharps are closely monitoring these Week 8 college football games
By STEVE MERRIL

Each week during the college football season, Steve Merril looks at the NCAAF odds and tells you which spread to bet now, which one to bet later, and which total to watch as the week plays out.

Spread to bet now

Army Black Knights (-18.5) vs. North Texas Mean Green

This line opened -17 and was quickly bet higher. Army is a perfect 2-0 SU/ATS at home this season, including an easy 62-7 win versus Lafayette last week as a 33.5-point favorite. The Black Knights held an incredible 537-10 rushing yards advantage. Overall this season, Army's option offense has run the ball on 87% of their offensive plays for 82% of their total offensive yards.

North Texas is 3-3 SU this season, but their three losses have come by an average of 21 points per game. The Mean Green has struggled to stop the run on the road this year, allowing 255 rushing yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry. Overall, North Texas is permitting 33.5 points per game away from home.

Spread to wait on

Missouri Tigers (-6.5) vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Some early money pushed Missouri to the key number of -7, but the line has now started to decline to -6.5 and even -6 at some sportsbooks. The betting public will not be very interested in backing a Missouri squad that just went 0-2 SU/ATS at LSU and Florida. However, those blowout losses will actually ensure a focused effort for the Tigers who are now taking a step down in class against a non-conference opponent.

Middle Tennessee is coming off a double-overtime 44-43 loss versus Western Kentucky in which the Blue Raiders had their extra point blocked in the second overtime. It was a very important game in Conference USA and such a tough loss might actually leave the Blue Raiders a little flat this week. It was an offensive shootout as Middle Tennessee held a 605-521 total yard edge. However, they will now be taking a big step up in class versus a SEC opponent in Missouri that has allowed just 16.3 points per game and only 4.1 yards per play at home this season.

Total to watch

TCU Horned Frogs at West Virginia Mountaineers (66)

West Virginia enters this game with a perfect 5-0 SU record after an impressive 48-17 road win at Texas Tech last week. The most impressive aspect was holding an explosive Red Raiders' offense to just 17 total points. A little surprising though as Texas Tech did throw for 345 yards in that game. West Virginia also had the advantage of a bye week and extra preparation time. The Mountaineers are a strong offensive team that is averaging 32.8 points and 534 total yards per game this season.

TCU enters this game off a bye week after playing a 24-23 game at Kansas in which the teams combined for 8 turnovers. It was TCU's worst offensive showing this season and the Horned Frogs should bounce back with a better effort now, especially with an extra week to prepare. Overall this season, TCU is averaging 40.2 points and 531 total yards per game on offense.

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:08 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

A brave new world for college football offenses
By JOE FORTENBAUGH

In the two college football seasons spanning the years 2014 and 2015, a grand total of 20 NCAA programs finished their respective campaigns averaging at least 40.0 points per game. And in those same two seasons, five games kicked-off with a Las Vegas over/under of at least 80.0 points.

Through the eight completed weeks of action in 2016, a staggering 19 teams are averaging at least 40.0 points per game and five matchups have kicked-off with a Las Vegas over/under of at least 80.0 points per game.

It’s a brave new world for college football offenses.

Led by a Big 12 conference that emphasizes a combination of high-octane, up-tempo offenses and leaky sieve defenses, the touchdowns have been coming at an alarming, yet highly entertaining rate this season. To illustrate our point, Texas Tech (48.8 pts/gm) alone has played in three contests this year that have featured an over/under of at least 80.0 points.

But the big question here is whether or not there’s any money to be made in regards to this information.

First, let’s take a look at the last five seasons in terms of how many games closed with a total of at least 80.0 points:

2012: 2
2013: 3
2014: 0
2015: 5
2016: 5

Unfortunately, despite the fact that scoring is on the rise, overs in games with a closing total of at least 80.0 points since 2012 have gone just 8-7, with a 2016 record of 3-2. That’s not the type of trend that we can take to the bank, but at the very least it does illustrate the swiftness with which Bookmakers work when it comes to keeping up with the latest trends.

But you didn’t think we were going to just leave you hanging with nothing more than a few introductory paragraphs, did you?

Here’s our closer: In those aforementioned 15 games played over the last five seasons with a closing total of at least 80.0 points, the home team is 12-3 straight-up while averaging a staggering 48.6 points per game. That means we should pay close attention to the “team totals” wagering section this week in regards to two games:

Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET: Oregon at California (total of 89)

Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET: Oklahoma at Texas Tech (total of 84.5)

Keep a real close eye on the team totals for both California and Texas Tech this weekend.

TREND OF THE WEEK

The undefeated (6-0) and fifth-ranked Washington Huskies have been railroading the opposition as of late, with victories against Stanford and Oregon over the last two weeks by a combined score of 114-27.

Yes, you read that correctly. 114-27. Over Stanford. And Oregon.

But head coach Chris Petersen and quarterback Jake Browning are currently on the outside looking in at college football’s four-team playoff, so the Huskies will need to keep the pedal to the metal in an effort to land one of those coveted spots in the 2016 postseason.

Washington plays host to 2-4 Oregon State Saturday night (6:30 p.m. ET) in a game that currently features a total of 55 points. Take note that the over is 8-1 in Washington’s last nine games overall.

In addition, the over is 5-0 in Washington’s last five conference games and 5-1 in the Huskies’ last six home contests. As if those trends weren’t enticing enough, the over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings between Washington and Oregon State.

With Browning currently listed at 8/1 to win the Heisman Trophy, don’t be surprised if the Huskies run up the score in an effort to pad their signal-caller’s stats, giving him a better chance of upsetting Louisville’s Lamar Jackson.

BIGGEST LINE MOVES OF THE WEEK

Charlotte 49ers (+18.5 to +13) at Marshall Thundering Herd: Charlotte has dropped four of its last five outings but somehow found a way to cover the number in back-to-back weeks against Florida Atlantic (October 9) and Florida International (October 15). But take note that the 49ers are still just 4-11-2 ATS over their last 17 games overall. As for Marshall, the Thundering Herd are 16-7-1 ATS over their last 24 homes games and are coming off a 27-21 win over Florida Atlantic, which broke a four-game losing streak.

New Mexico Lobos (-12.5 to -17) vs. UL Monroe Warhawks: After failing to cover the number in four straight contests, the Lobos busted loose last Saturday with a 45-40 upset road win at Air Force as 14-point underdogs. But at 2-6 ATS over their last eight games against Sun Belt opposition, you may be wondering why this line has moved 4.5 points in New Mexico’s favor. That’s because Warhawks quarterback Garrett Smith was lost for the season last Saturday against Texas State with a torn ACL in his right knee. As a result, UL-Monroe will turn the keys to the car over to redshirt freshman Will Collins, who has thrown a grand total of 18 career collegiate passes.

Louisville Cardinals (-15.5 to -19) vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack: No surprises here whatsoever as the action continues to pour in on Heisman Trophy frontrunner Lamar Jackson and his Louisville Cardinals, who are averaging 52.3 points per game this season and are 5-2-1 ATS over their last eight games overall. However, be advised that Louisville has scored just 60 total points over its last two outings, while North Carolina State is 4-0 ATS over its last four games overall and 9-4 ATS over its last 13 road dates.

Indiana Hoosiers (+4.5 to +1.5) at Northwestern Wildcats: Disregard the 3-3 record when it comes to Indiana because this team has been far more competitive than most expected entering 2016, as those three aforementioned losses came by 5 points against Wake Forest, 21 points at undefeated Ohio State (but they covered the spread!) and 5 points against Nebraska. Also note that Indiana is 5-1 ATS over its last six conference matchups, while Northwestern is 1-4 ATS over its last five home games. Further, the underdog in this series is 5-2 ATS over the last seven meetings between these two programs.

Wyoming Cowboys (-3.5 to -6) at Nevada Wolf Pack: If you haven’t noticed what head coach Craig Bohl has got cooking in his third year on the job at Wyoming, it’s time to stand up and take notice. Not only are the Cowboys 4-2 this season, but they are coming off back-to-back upset conference wins over Colorado State as 5.5-point underdogs and Air Force as 13.5-point underdogs. As a result, Wyoming is now 7-1 ATS over its last eight games played in the month of October. As for Nevada, the Wolf Pack are 0-4 ATS over their last four games overall and 8-20 ATS over their last 28 games played in the month of October.

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:09 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

NCAA Football Predictions: Week 8 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews

The biggest thing in college football this week might not happen on the field but at an airport hotel in Dallas. That's because the Big 12 presidents are meeting there Monday and are expected to decide whether to expand the conference as early as next year. For months, it seemed like the conference would go to 12 teams, adding Houston and either BYU or Cincinnati.

But now reports are that the Big 12 will decide to stay put because the conference's TV partners, Fox and ESPN, don't want any new additions. Basically, those companies are going to pay the Big 12 not to expand. "We don't think expansion in the Big 12 is a good idea for the conference," Fox Sports president Eric Shanks said recently to the Sports Business Journal. Sure, if a Notre Dame or another Power 5 school with some cache wanted to join the Big 12, that's one thing. But the likes of Houston, BYU and Cincinnati aren't all that attractive apparently. I do tend to think the last thing the Big 12 needs is another Texas school. Non-expansion would be a big blow for Houston as it attempts to hang onto Coach Tom Herman.

But you never know what the Big 12 might do as it's pretty unpredictable. Earlier this year, the conference gave one of its marquee players, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, an extra year of eligibility -- a day after it originally decided not to. And really any expansion will be decided by the presidents of OU and Texas as they are the two power brokers in the conference.

I do think the Big 12 will miss out on the College Football Playoff for a second time, becoming the first conference to do that and maybe the presidents revisit this next year if so -- although the Big 12 will add a conference title game in 2017 regardless. Both Baylor and West Virginia are unbeaten but neither has played anyone of note yet. They close the regular season against one another in Morgantown. I fully expect each to lose at least once before that game. No. 9 Baylor is off this week, while No. 12 WVU is -4.5 at home vs. TCU. The Frogs are off their bye and hoping center Austin Schlottman and receiver KaVontae Turpin can return from injuries.

Here are a few Week 8 opening lines that caught my eye. Rankings from AP poll and games Saturday unless noted.

Purdue at No. 8 Nebraska (-24): The second job opening at a Power 5 school opened on Saturday as Purdue fired coach Darrell Hazell following a 49-35 home loss to Iowa. Really not sure why he wasn't fired after last season. Hazell finishes his Purdue career with a 9-33 record in three-plus seasons and 3-24 mark against the rest of the Big Ten. You already hear Les Miles' name tied to this job, although I'd imagine Miles could do better. It's the worst job in the Big Ten as Purdue doesn't have the best facilities and gets third billing in its own state behind Notre Dame and Indiana. You've also heard the name of Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck, but Purdue might not want to go the Mid-American Conference route after it did so with Hazell. Frankly, Fleck can also aim higher. Wide receivers coach Gerad Parker will finish the season as the interim coach. The Huskers are the only Big Ten West team without a conference loss but they have played a really weak schedule overall this season. I could see NU perhaps looking past this one and toward a big trip to Madison next week. The pick: I'll take the points, hoping this line rises and I think it will as NU is taking a big early lean.

No. 22 North Carolina at Virginia (+7.5): It was a good and bad Week 7 for the Heels. It was good in that UNC went to Miami and knocked off the ranked Hurricanes 20-13, while the other Coastal ranked school, Virginia Tech was upset at Syracuse. The Heels still need the Hokies to lose once more for North Carolina to control its destiny to win the division a second year in a row as Virginia Tech won the head-to-head matchup. But the Hokies could always lose at home Thursday night at home vs. Miami. The Tar Heels did lose starting receiver Mack Hollins to a season-ending broken collarbone vs. the Hurricanes. The senior ends his career with 81 receptions for 1,667 yards and 20 touchdowns (those are No..3 in school history). The Wahoos came off their bye Saturday and lost 45-31 at home to Pittsburgh. The pick: UNC.

No. 6 Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama (-17): This might be the most important game of the year at least until No. 3 Michigan visits No. 2 Ohio State to close the Big Ten regular season. Expect to hear plenty of whining from Nick Saban that his team had to play at a good Tennessee team on Saturday while Texas A&M was on the bye. Saban always thinks the league office has something against him. The Aggies are the 28th opponent in Saban's 10 seasons in Tuscaloosa to have an idle week before playing the Tide. No other SEC team in that period has had more than 16. Coincidence or not? Alabama sure looks unbeatable after that 49-10 win over the No. 9 Vols. The Tide had 438 rushing yards, the most they have had since the 1986 season. It was the most lopsided victory by either team in that rivalry since a 51-0 Alabama victory in 1906. Don't count the loser here out of the College Football Playoff if it's a close defeat but the winner is in control of the SEC West. The pick: Aggies won't win -- they haven't beaten Tide since Johnny Manziel's Heisman-winning game in 2012 -- but will cover.

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:09 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Preview: Wisconsin Badgers (4-2) at Iowa Hawkeyes (5-2)

Date: October 22, 2016 12:00 PM EDT

No. 10 Wisconsin's challenging October continues Saturday with a road game against archrival Iowa.

The Badgers lost their past two games, both by a touchdown, to then-No. 4 Michigan and to No. 2 Ohio State in overtime, with a bye week sandwiched between those games.

Wisconsin (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) desperately needs a win to remain in the Big Ten West race. A loss potentially would put the Badgers three games behind front-running Nebraska, which plays host to lowly Purdue this week.

After facing Iowa (5-2, 3-1), Wisconsin returns home the following week for a showdown with No. 8 Nebraska. But first the Badgers must get past the Hawkeyes on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN) in Kinnick Stadium.

"It's going to be a fun and intense rivalry game, and I can't wait," Wisconsin cornerback Sojourn Shelton said.

Playing this game on the road isn't necessarily a bad thing for Wisconsin. Strangely, the road team has fared well the past few years.

The Badgers won on each of their past three visits to Iowa City in the evenly matched series (Wisconsin leads 44-43-2) but lost in Madison a year ago.

The Heartland Trophy game between Iowa and Wisconsin is always hard-hitting and usually highly competitive. Last fall, Iowa came away with a 10-6 road win that propelled the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten championship game.

"Going a whole year with an empty trophy case, (without) seeing it in the locker room every day, it kind of makes you angry a little bit," Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook said. "Especially after that game when it wasn't sitting there in the locker room.

"That's definitely something that we want back, and we'll be doing everything we can to get it back."

Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst doesn't spent much time thinking about the history between the teams.

"Those of us who were a part of it last year, we understand what happened, and yet none that carries over, carries forward," he said. "We've got a ton of respect for Iowa, and I do certainly for their program, but it's about this Saturday, who's the best team."

Chryst is more concerned about bouncing back from last week's home loss to Ohio State and getting his team healthy. Wisconsin led 16-6 at halftime but couldn't close the deal.

The Badgers came out of that game banged up. A long list of players are questionable on this week's injury report, including linebacker Vince Biegel, nose tackle Olive Sagapolu, wide receiver Robert Wheelwright, linebacker Zack Baun, offensive lineman Jon Dietzen, running back Taiwan Deal and safety Keelon Brookins.

Wisconsin enters the game as a slight favorite over Iowa, which rebounded from stunning home losses to North Dakota State and Northwestern by recording consecutive road wins.

The Hawkeyes' latest victories came against Minnesota and Purdue, though, and so it is difficult to gauge just how much Iowa improved the past two weeks. But it certainly will find out more this week.

"All of us are really feeling better than we did a couple of weeks ago," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "That was really a tough defeat (against Northwestern), but I think the guys really learned from it, and the last two weeks we've played better football with more intensity. We've done some things that are paramount to winning."

After Iowa won a 14-7 slugfest at Minnesota two weeks ago, the Hawkeyes looked good last Saturday. Iowa beat Purdue 49-35 in West Lafayette, Ind., resulting in the firing of Boilermakers coach Darrell Hazell on Sunday.

The Hawkeyes bolted to a 35-7 lead and began substituting freely in the second half, allowing Purdue to make the score respectable.

Two areas of concern that Iowa appeared to address are its rushing offense and its run defense. The Hawkeyes ran for an impressive 365 yards against Purdue and held the Boilermakers to 47 yards on the ground.

Those ground yards will be much tougher to come by against the Badgers, whose defense gave Ohio State some problems, particularly in the first half.

The key to Saturday's game for Iowa could be its ability to effectively use its two backs -- LeShun Daniels Jr. and Akrum Wadley -- to move the ball against the Wisconsin defense and help loosen up the defense for quarterback C.J. Beathard, who has 11 touchdown passes and four interceptions this season but could be without one of his favorite targets, injured tight end George Kittle.

Wadley rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown, and Daniels amassed 150 yards and two touchdowns against Purdue.

"They're both playing the best football of their careers," Ferentz said. "The two of them have really complemented each other. It's been a good combination."

On defense, Iowa will be trying to slow down Wisconsin running back Corey Clement, who rushed for 164 yards against Ohio State, and Hornibrook. Clement leads the team with 483 rushing yards.

"No question we'll have to be at our best against No. 10-ranked team in the country coming in," Ferentz said. "It'll be a great environment. The big thing for us right now there is no tomorrow. We'll put all we can into this game. We're going to have to. We're playing a really outstanding opponent."

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:09 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Preview: N.C. State Wolfpack (4-2) at Louisville Cardinals (5-1)

Date: October 22, 2016 12:00 PM EDT

What once looked to be no more than a small bump in the road for the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals on their way to double digits in wins took on a new dimension last week when the North Carolina State Wolfpack came within a missed field goal of knocking Clemson from its lofty ranking.

The Cardinals and Wolfpack meet at noon ET Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville (ABC).

While the unranked Wolfpack (4-2, 1-1 ACC) were putting a scare into the unbeaten Tigers, the Cardinals (5-1, 3-1 ACC) were having an unexpected tussle with Duke at home.

The Blue Devils may have given an example on how to slow Louisville quarterback and Heisman Trophy favorite Lamar Jackson: Keep him off the field. The Blue Devils controlled the ball and the clock, though ultimately not the scoreboard in a 24-14 Louisville win.

"It's a little frustrating," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said of Duke's ability to control the tempo. "There's no question about it. They got themselves into third-and-shorts and then converted.

"We're not used to that. We're used to getting off the field on defense and getting our offense the ball back, but we held in there and found a way to win."

Duke controlled the football for over 37 minutes and managed to hold the Cardinals to just 61 plays, 19 fewer than what they were averaging coming into the game.

Jackson still got his yards (144 on 21 rushes with one touchdown, 181 on 13 completions in 26 attempts with one score), but Louisville wasn't able to put the game away until a roughing-the-kicker-penalty kept alive a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter and provided the Cardinals with a 10-point margin of victory.

Jackson said Duke's strategy caught the Cardinals by surprise, but that isn't likely to happen with the Wolfpack. Unlike Duke, which is a member of the ACC's Coastal Division, N.C. State is a colleague with Louisville in the Atlantic and they play each other every season.

"We know them well because the majority of the players are the same guys we've been playing against for the last two years," Petrino said. "They're very well coached. They're a physical team.

"We've always had really good battles with them and found a way to win in the fourth quarter, so I imagine this is going be a very good football game."

The Wolfpack are hoping to build momentum from its play against Clemson.

"I think we learned about how good we are," quarterback Ryan Finley said. "We took on the No. 3 team into overtime and really beat ourselves.

"We have a great squad and we are going to bounce back from this. This is not the end of our season."

N.C. State's defense has received strong reviews during the first month-plus of the season, and that was on display against Clemson.

Much of the good work from the defense might have been dismissed a week earlier because the 10-3 victory against Notre Dame was played in windy, rainy conditions brought on by Hurricane Matthew.

But there was no mistake of the defense's ability against Clemson. N.C. State forced four turnovers in the game and held the Tigers to just 117 yards rushing, though Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson passed for 378.

The Wolfpack had 397 yards in total offense to Clemson's 495.

Wolfpack senior running back Matt Dayes had a triple-digit rushing game against the Tigers with 106 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown. Finley, a transfer from Boise State, passed for 231 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice, including his last pass in overtime to end the game.

"I definitely feel like the team realizes that we can compete with just about anybody in the country and we have just got to believe that," Dayes said. "We are a great offense and defense. We have just got to finish. ... We probably surprised them, but we weren't surprised ourselves."

The Wolfpack aren't likely to catch Louisville by surprise.

"We have to go out this week and have a great week of practice and be more intense, more into our focus, more in the preparation that we've had for the other games that we've played early in the fall," Petrino said. "We weren't at the top of our game, and we need to get back to that, get back to our players you know, working to have the best game they've had all year."

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:10 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Preview: North Carolina Tar Heels (5-2) at Virginia Cavaliers (2-4)

Date: October 22, 2016 3:00 PM EDT

North Carolina is not yet in control of its future when it comes to a return appearance in the ACC Championship Game as Virginia Tech holds the tiebreaker over the Tar Heels if those two teams end up tied at the top of the Coastal Division standings at the end of the regular season.

But the No. 22 Tar Heels are sitting in a much better position heading into Saturday's game against Virginia at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va., (3 p.m. ET, RSN) than they were a week ago when they were bound for Miami coming off the big loss to the Hokies.

The win over the Hurricanes put North Carolina (5-2, 3-1 ACC) alone in first place in the division when the Hokies lost at Syracuse to fall to 2-1 in league play.

Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, however, their 20-13 victory over the Hurricanes came with a price.

They lost wide receiver Mack Hollins to a broken collarbone and the senior will miss the rest of the season after having surgery. Hollins led North Carolina in touchdown catches with four among his 16 receptions. His 19.3 yards per catch average was tops among receivers with more than one catch.

Fortunately for the Tar Heels, they do have depth at the position. Wide receiver Ryan Switzer has 58 catches for 606 yards, Bug Howard 29 for 429 and Austin Proehl 24 for 302. Running backs T.J. Logan and Elijah Hood have a combined 34 catches for 229 yards.

"We still got some guys that can stretch the field vertically," North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. "That doesn't overly concern me.

"We'll miss Mack's ability to do it. That's probably the thing he does best, but we've got some guys who can get behind people."

The Tar Heels, who have won six straight over Virginia, have gone through what arguably is the toughest part of their schedule with their four remaining conference games against teams with a combined 3-8 league mark. In addition to Virginia's 1-1 conference record, Georgia Tech is 1-3 in league play, Duke 0-3 and North Carolina State 1-1. North Carolina also has a non-conference affair against The Citadel.

None of the conference games figures to be pushovers, though the Tar Heels likely will be favored in all four.

If they are able to run the table, they still need Virginia Tech to lose at least one more time to get to the ACC title game. North Carolina already has beaten Pittsburgh (5-2, 2-1).

Virginia (2-4, 1-1) could be an interesting matchup. The Cavaliers began the season by losing their first three games (Richmond, Oregon, Connecticut) but notched a win over Central Michigan before opening conference play by beating Duke 24-10. They lost a high-scoring 45-31 affair to Pittsburgh last week.

"I like my team," first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "I like how hard they try and how they've embraced the culture. And we're moving up the scale of the effort and intent to position mastery and execution.

"That's basically where our team is right now. So we're becoming better in terms of our position mastery and playing our spots. Execution is not holding yet long enough from beginning to end in all three phases to have the outcomes that we would like.

"But more and more plays are looking how we would like them to be."

Cavaliers quarterback Kurt Benkert, a transfer from East Carolina, has passed for 421, 336, and 278 yards the last three games but has seven interceptions against 14 touchdown passes for the season.

The Cavaliers have a two-back approach to the rushing game with Taquan Mizzell rushing for a team-best 355 yards and Albert Reid 346.

Defensively, the Cavaliers had some success at times stopping the run, holding Central Michigan to 93 yards rushing and Duke to 106, but gave up 209 yards to Pittsburgh their last outing and 301 to Oregon early in the season.

"We're still missing more plays in open field than what I would like," Mendenhall said. "But we're starting to make more than what we had before. So a work in progress."

The series, which North Carolina leads 63-53-4, began in 1892 and is billed as the oldest rivalry in the South.

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:10 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Preview: Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-2) at Western Michigan Broncos (7-0)

Date: October 22, 2016 3:30 PM EDT

Western Michigan is undefeated and in control of the Mid-American Conference race, but coach P.J. Fleck is getting a lot of attention about where he could spend next season.

Fleck has the Broncos at 7-0 entering Saturday's game (3:30 ET) at Waldo Stadium against Eastern Michigan. Western Michigan is up four spots and ranked 20th after debuting last week in the AP Top 25 poll.

"I've been part of rumors and speculation my entire life, and that will never change," he said. "It's elite exposure for Western Michigan. My focus is on today, and that's the way I've lived my life. ... I can't control rumors or speculation, and I'll never comment on rumors or speculation. Just like I didn't in Year 1, or last year or the year before. I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in coaching this football team and being the best head coach I can be today. That's all I'm focused on."

Last season, the 35-year-old Fleck guided Western Michigan to its second consecutive eight-win season and first-ever bowl victory. Western Michigan (3-0 MAC) started the season with two wins over Big Ten teams -- Northwestern and Illinois -- and might get a longer look in a David vs. Goliath matchup if the wins keep coming. For now, Fleck doesn't want to talk about whether he's staying or going.

His team insists there is no distraction away from the focus on winning football games. Senior quarterback Zach Terrell said Tuesday that Fleck's future -- and his own -- has not been a topic of conversation.

"It's not distracting us at all," Terrell said. "He comes in the same every day, he's the exact same person and brings it. If he were to come in and be a different person and maybe be reserved, we might be concerned. That outside noise about coach Fleck may be leaving, all the people putting pressure on us ... we are such a tight-knit group, and we only focus on us. It starts with him."

Eastern Michigan is 5-2, 2-1 and hopes of a transformation from a MAC West doormat could hit fast forward with a victory on Saturday. Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton outlined two goals in preseason for the Eagles -- beat Western Michigan and get his seniors to a bowl game.

"We have a really tough opponent coming in this weekend," Terrell said. "I'm completely focused on the season. I'm focused on today."

NFLDraftScout.com ranks Terrell the eighth-best quarterback in the 2017 class but with Corey Davis and Jarvion Franklin behind a proven offensive line, he's not the only weapon the Broncos have.

"We were the doormat three years ago, and they're kind of doing what we were doing two years ago," Terrell said. "They are playing tough. They have a lot of confidence. For people to think it's just going to be a cakewalk, that couldn't be further from the truth."

Firepower and depth are two big differentiators between the teams. Western Michigan has the top recruiting class in the MAC three years in a row under Fleck. Creighton's depth chart is jammed with inexperience.

But the emergence of junior quarterback Brogan Roback has put a charge in the Eastern Michigan offense.

He had 347 passing yards and three touchdowns last week and EMU is off to its best start since 1995.

"We know this is going to be a huge challenge. Western is a great football team, and they're playing great football. A lot of talent, a lot of momentum," Creighton said. "Our guys look at this like a great challenge and a great opportunity to get out there and compete again."

Fleck said the Broncos do have grand goals in mind but he's stressing a collection of one-game seasons as the team's collective mindset. That won't be easy with national attention growing and the first College Football Playoff rankings coming soon.

We focus on changing our best every single day.

"We've prepared for this all the way back in January," Fleck said. "We told them this could possibly happen, so everything we did was based on pressure, expectations, noise from the outside, and we put them through all those things in the offseason pretending like this was going to happen, informing them of different things that would happen."

**TheGame** · 10-22-2016, 07:11 AM

Re: NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

Preview: TCU Horned Frogs (4-2) at West Virginia Mountaineers (5-0)

Date: October 22, 2016 3:30 PM EDT

The No. 12 West Virginia Mountaineers will look to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2006 and also stay on top of the Big 12 Conference standings when they host the TCU Horned Frogs in Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday afternoon.

The Mountaineers (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) have developed a reputation for producing high-powered offenses in recent years, but come in off a sparkling defensive effort, winning 48-17 at Texas Tech last week. The Red Raiders entered the contest leading the nation in passing offense (544 yards per game) and were second in scoring offense (55.2).

"It's a good plane ride home but after that you settle in and get back to work," West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen said. "... It goes away really quick."

Tony Gibson's defensive unit held the Red Raiders 280 yards and 38 points below their season averages. The 17 points were a season-low for Tech and snapped a streak of nine consecutive home games where the Red Raiders had scored at least 50 points.

West Virginia, which lost nine starters from last year's defensive unit and arguably its best player in free safety Dravon Askew-Henry in fall camp to a torn ACL, has utilized the odd 3-3-5 stack and disguised its blitzing to create problems for opposing offenses.

"What we do defensively is hard for me to attack," Holgorsen said.

The Horned Frogs (4-2, 2-1) provide more of a running threat than Texas Tech. But if the season's first five games are any guide, Gibson will come up with a scheme to combat TCU's version of the spread.

"Because they move around so much, it looks like there are 12, 13 people out there sometimes," Holgorsen said. "Just being able to disguise stuff is very important. Only having three down linemen gives you more second-level players that you can move around and blitz people from different spaces."

It didn't hurt that the offense kept West Virginia ahead all day, establishing a season high for points despite occasional bouts of sloppiness that left Holgorsen frustrated on the sideline. But quarterback Skyler Howard threw for 318 yards, rushed for 89 and accounted for three scores in probably his best all-around game of the year.

The Mountaineers rolled up 332 yards on the ground at Texas Tech and nearly had three 100-yard rushers. Rushel Shell finished with 104, backup Kennedy McCoy gained 99 on just four carries and Howard added 89 on 12 attempts. Opponents are gaining 150.7 yards per game on the ground against TCU, so it's not an impossible defense on which to run.

West Virginia's defense will have to try and find a way to slow down TCU quarterback Kenny Hill, who passed for 2,142 yards and 12 touchdowns but is also experiencing interception issues. The junior threw three interceptions in the unexpectedly tight 24-23 win at lowly Kansas on Oct. 8 and has the most interceptions (eight) in the Big 12. Hill also can make things happen with his legs as he is tied for the team lead with seven rushing touchdowns.

The game against Kansas marked the second time Hill has thrown multiple interceptions in a game. And it increased chatter that his decision-making can be suspect.

"This offense, it's the nature of it," TCU coach Gary Patterson said of the interceptions. "You're not going to win very many ballgames if you do (throw interceptions), but that has a little bit more to do with us, how we call it and what we do."

Hill passed for a season-worst 206 yards against Kansas -- well off the pace expected from a quarterback who topped 400 yards in three of his first five starts for the Horned Frogs.

TCU (4-2, 2-1), which has had two weeks to prepare for this one, could certainly use the mistake-free version of Hill on Saturday. The Horned Frogs are averaging 40.2 points, but Patterson is aware it will be tough to approach that number after watching West Virginia limit Texas Tech's powerful offense to 17 points last Saturday.

"You have to make plays and tackle in space, and they were able to do that," Patterson said. "They got after Patrick (Mahomes II), who is a really good quarterback. They have great skill players.

"You have to be able to run the ball against them. Two years ago, we had to run the football to win. If you can't, you're going to get yourself in a lot of trouble."

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NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

NCAAF Betting Info 10/22

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