NCAAF Betting Info 11/19

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Re: NCAAF Betting Info 11/19

Preview: Arizona State Sun Devils (5-5) at Washington Huskies (9-1)


Date: November 19, 2016 7:30 PM EDT


Washington suffered its first loss of the season last week, but its hopes still flicker for a berth in the College Football Playoff.


The seventh-ranked Huskies (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12) still control their destiny in the Pac-12 North, needing to beat struggling Arizona State (5-5, 2-5) at home on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX) before finishing the regular season at division-leading Washington State.


"We do just need to respond," said Washington coach Chris Petersen, whose team lost 26-13 at home to USC last weekend.


"I hope our guys have a new edge to them a little bit, but I do think they've done a good job all season long, like I've been saying, about preparing. They played hard. Both sides played really, really hard. It wasn't about that at all."


Washington's weak nonconference schedule -- Rutgers, Idaho, Portland State -- continues to be an issue as the Huskies now need help to reach the playoff. But they have a chance to impress late in the season, by beating the Cougars and then facing a ranked champion from the Pac-12 South, possibly even getting a rematch against USC.


But first up is Arizona State, which has lost four games in a row, allowing at least 37 points in each of them. The Sun Devils have given up 103 total points to Oregon and Utah in the past two outings.


Allowing explosive plays has been at the forefront of ASU's undoing.


The Sun Devils have allowed 64 plays of 20-plus yards (tied for 121st out of 128 teams nationally), 34 plays of 30-plus yards (123rd), 24 plays of 40-plus yards (127th), 16 plays of 50-plus yards (127th) and 11 plays of 60-plus yards (tied for 126th).


For more evidence, see last week's 49-26 home loss to Utah.


The Utes scored on a 64-yard pass, a 27-yard pass, a 17-yard pass, an 82-yard run, a 24-yard pass and a 40-yard run.


"The story of the whole game, when you go back and look at the film, my only impression is just big plays," said coach Todd Graham. "That's been the big deal. It's just frustrating."


Although stonewalled by USC, Washington has all kinds of explosive potential. The Huskies scored 70 against Oregon and 66 vs. Cal this season. The trio of wide receiver John Ross, running back Myles Gaskin and quarterback Jake Browning can provide plenty of fireworks.


Browning, after completing 17 of 36 passes for 259 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions against USC, dropped from first to third nationally in passing efficiency with a rating of 189.1.


Gaskin was held to 51 yards rushing on 15 carries last week, but he did go over 1,000 yards for the season and is averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Ross, one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wideout, picked up his 15th touchdown reception of the season last week.


"Ross is probably the most dynamic player in our league," Graham said. "I would say explosive plays and defense are the two things when I think of them."


Washington's defense has been superb, ranking ninth nationally in points allowed (17.9 per game) and 19th in total defense (336.8). The Huskies lead the nation in turnover margin (plus 1.5 per game).


But Washington is now without two of its top two defenders against the run. Linebacker Joe Mathis (foot) was already out for the season and linebacker Azeem Victor suffered a foot injury last week that will keep him sidelined.


Redshirt freshman DJ Beavers will replace Victor, who has a team-high 68 tackles.


"I think he filled in pretty well," Petersen said of Beavers.


"He made some tackles, played aggressive, played tough. It's hard when you lose a player like Azeem, for sure, but it was not like this, 'Oh, now we have no chance' type of thing. He was right there playing physical."


Arizona State has some weapons on offense, although quarterback Manny Wilkins, who has dealt with injuries in recent weeks, looked rusty Saturday against Utah, throwing two interceptions and being sacked nine times.


Arizona State uses running back Kalen Ballage in a variety of ways, including taking direct snaps. He is coming off his second consecutive game with 200-plus all-purpose yards, rolling up 244 against Utah -- a career-high 118 receiving, 46 rushing and 80 in the return game.


Wide receiver N'Keal Harry, a talented true freshman, is coming off his best game. He had eight catches for a career-high 114 yards, rushed for 31 yards on a broken play after he dropped a lateral, and completed a 46-yard pass. He'll have interesting matchups this week against Washington cornerbacks Sidney Jones and Kevin King.

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Re: NCAAF Betting Info 11/19

Preview: Alabama A&M Bulldogs (4-6) at Auburn Tigers (7-3)


Date: November 19, 2016 7:30 PM EDT


Injuries continue to mount for No. 18 Auburn, particularly on offense.


Coach Gus Malzahn announced that the Tigers will be without such weapons as running backs Kamryn Pettway and Stanton Truitt, and H-back Chandler Cox when they host Alabama A&M on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).


Also sidelined are wide receiver/punt returner Marcus Davis and special teams performer Josh Shockley. Meanwhile, quarterback Sean White is listed as questionable for the game, which serves as the final tuneup for the Tigers (7-3) before the traditional Iron Bowl match against No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 26.


Malzahn said early in the week he was "not ready to make a call" on the status of White, who said he had re-aggravated a shoulder injury in last week's 13-7 loss to Georgia.


"We'll play him when he's healthy," Malzahn said.


White struggled against the Bulldogs. A normally accurate passer, he completed 6 of 20 attempts and 2 of 8 in the fourth quarter.


"I kind of hurt myself a little bit more during the game," White said the next day. "I think I could have done a little better job letting the coaches know. I wanted to play for my team and I wanted to try to win."


Malzahn said that John Franklin III and Jeremy Johnson are in line at quarterback if needed. Franklin started two weeks against Vanderbilt, but Malzahn turned the game back over to White after the Tigers went to the locker room trailing 13-10 at halftime. White rallied the Tigers to the 23-16 victory.


In addition to the trio of running backs who have been ruled out, sophomore Kerryon Johnson is still recovering from an ankle injury that sidelined him for one game and has affected him since. He had 22 carries for 99 yards against Georgia.


"We're pretty beat up back there," coach Gus Malzahn said of the Tigers' backfield.


The concern is such that Auburn went into this week looking to give defensive back Johnathan Ford some reps on offense in case he was needed. He was moved from offense to defense in the fall camp of his freshman year in 2013.


Freshman Kam Martin (144 yards on 23 carries) also could assume a more prominent role.


Pettway exploded onto the scene in the second week of the season when he rushed for 152 yards in a victory over Arkansas State after sitting out the opener against Clemson.


Pettway has been well into triple digits in rushing in all but one of his appearances -- he had only 61 on 17 runs against LSU -- but also missed the Louisiana-Monroe game with a bruised quad. He then pulled up lame late against Vanderbilt, he did not play at Georgia because of the leg injury. He has a team-best 1,108 yards in eight games.


Truitt, who rushed for a season-high 78 yards against Arkansas, is out with an ankle injury and Cox also has a leg problem. Auburn is hopeful of getting them back for the Iron Bowl.


Davis and Shockley, however, are out for the season with shoulder injuries.


Davis has 17 receptions for 160 yards, but his absence will also be felt most in Auburn's return game. He had 10 of Auburn's 11 punt runbacks for 71 yards with a long of 25 yards.


"He was one of our leaders and, obviously, our punt returner," Malzahn said.


If there is any silver lining for the Tigers in this cloud of injuries, it is that they should be should be able to rest up the players against Alabama A&M, an FCS team that beat Jackson State 27-20 in its last outing for only its third win in the last eight games.


Quarterback De'Angelo Ballard passed for only 143 yards and had two passes picked off in that game, but also rushed for a game-high 155 yards. Running back Jordan Bentley ran for 106.

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Re: NCAAF Betting Info 11/19

Preview: Oklahoma Sooners (8-2) at West Virginia Mountaineers (8-1)


Date: November 19, 2016 8:00 PM EDT


Prolific offense is the reputation by which No. 8 Oklahoma lives, but Bob Stoops doesn't mind hearing about how far his defense has come in a few short weeks as the Sooners pack their bags for a Big 12 showdown at 10th-ranked West Virginia on Saturday night.


In a 66-59 win at Texas Tech on Oct. 22, the Sooners gave up 854 yards of total offense.


Since, Oklahoma has given up an average of 321.4 yards per game in three wins.


"We haven't changed defenses," Stoops said. "Guys are playing better."


That improvement needs to keep up for the Sooners to have success this week when they travel to West Virginia in a game that will go a long way toward determining the Big 12 champion.


The most glaring improvement has been in the secondary, where cornerbacks Jordan Thomas and Jordan Parker have settled in after a rough first part of the season.


Thomas, who was strong a year ago as a sophomore, struggled to maintain his success early, being repeatedly beaten deep by opposing receivers.


Parker, a freshman, has been the latest to step into the other cornerback role after three other players started there early in the season.


Stoops said the improvement goes deeper.


"It isn't just the secondary," Stoops said. "It's the linebackers, everybody. It's been -- it was really solid the other day. I say the linebackers are a big part of it."


Stoops specifically mentioned Oklahoma's two inside linebackers -- Jordan Evans and Emmanuel Beal -- for their improvement.


Evans had two interceptions and two sacks last week.


"It has been a complete U-turn from that game," Evans said, pointing back to that game against Tech. "Our intensity, our effort. Guys are making more plays. The No. 1 thing is guys are having more fun doing it. Guys are wanting to get back out there each and every Saturday and wanting to get to practice on Monday to get better and to keep it going."


Evans said while the Tech game wasn't necessarily a must for improvement, it's helped focus the defense in the weeks since.


"It should never have to happen," Evans said. "We should have been doing that since Day One. The only reason I think it was good is we were still able to come out with a win in that game. We've kind of flipped out defense around. It was a good wakeup call for us."


One way the Sooners can effectively quiet West Virginia's offense is to eat the clock with a deadly running game.


Samaje Perine ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns in Oklahoma's last game in Morgantown, his first career game with 100 or more yards on the ground. And tailback Joe Mixon is averaging 6.87 yards per carry during his career, the most in the Bob Stoops era among players with 100 or more carries.


Mixon is spending several snaps per game split wide of the formation, ala DeMarco Murray, to help get both players on the field and dictate matchups.


"It's probably not quite as striking now because more people do it," Stoops said. "I still think it's effective and it still gives defenses some pause when you've got a linebacker that's way out on the numbers in a space where he's not used to operating. Just Demarco (Murray) along with Joe (Mixon) have such exceptional hands and an ability to get open. It works for us."


Mixon enters the week second in the Big 12 in rushing with 937 yards.


West Virginia has a very balanced rushing attack of its own with Justin Crawford, Rushel Shell III and Kennedy McKoy all averaging between 67-51 yards per game. This week's effort might depend on injuries. Shell was sidelined last week at Texas and McKoy carried 25 times for 73 yards to be recognized by WVU coach as the Mountaineers' offensive champion.


The Mountaineers average about 211 yards on the ground while Oklahoma surrenders an average of 132.4. Last week, the Sooners struggled to slow down Baylor's rushing attack early, surrendering 212 yards to the Bears.


Perhaps more pressing for WVU is what the Mountaineers will get out of their quarterback.


OU allows upwards of 300 passing yards per game, but in part those numbers are a byproduct of grabbing big leads and playing a softer coverage in the second half.


WVU's Skyler Howard got away with one at Texas, leading the team to victory despite throwing three interceptions. Howard was 21 of 35 for 269 yards, guiding the offense to just one touchdown after they scored a quick 17 points in the first 15:11 of the game.


Oklahoma leads 6-2 overall and 2-0 in Morgantown. The Mountaineers have not beaten the Sooners since they joined the Big 12.

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Re: NCAAF Betting Info 11/19

Preview: Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-8)


Date: November 19, 2016 8:00 PM EDT


The door to a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game is wide open for Penn State and what was unthinkable just weeks ago -- a shot at the four-team College Football Playoff -- is within reach. The question now is: Can the injury-riddle Nittany Lions (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) limp through it?


No. 9 Penn State, ranked eighth in this week's College Football Playoff poll, is expected to play without its top three offensive tackles when it travels to Piscataway, N.J., to play Rutgers (2-8, 0-7) on Saturday.


Starting offensive tackle Andrew Nelson was lost for the season weeks ago and fellow starter Brendan Mahon is not expected back this week. Compounding the issue, it was announced Tuesday that Paris Palmer, who had moved into the starting lineup at tackle, is done for the season with a knee injury suffered early in last week's 45-31 win at Indiana. Promising young guard Connor McGovern also could miss the game.


Michigan's shocking loss to Iowa last Saturday means the Wolverines, Nittany Lions and No. 2 Ohio State all enter the week with 6-1 records atop the Big Ten's East Division. Penn State still needs Michigan, which hosts Indiana this week, to lose again while the Nittany Lions must win both of their games. That doesn't seem all that improbable when considering Penn State's final two opponents -- the Nittany Lions host sputtering Michigan State (3-7, 1-6) next week -- while Michigan still has to play the Buckeyes in Columbus.


Penn State still has to take care of business, however.


Although Penn State's final two opponents are a combined 1-13 in conference play, the offensive line injury woes could set back an offense that has taken off under first-year coordinator Joe Moorhead. It leaves Penn State with just one starting upperclassman -- center Brian Gaia -- and a bunch more questions for coach James Franklin. Does he go to veteran reserves Wendy Laurent and Derek Dowrey? Or does he burn a redshirt in order to fill the holes up front?


Despite the injury woes on the line, the Nittany Lions still lead the Big Ten in plays of at least 20 yards, while also ranking tied for sixth nationally with 18 plays of 40-plus yards.


Sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 2,390 yards and leads the FBS in yards per completion (15.4). He has 27 completions of 30 or more yards. Also an excellent runner, McSorley has had both a rushing and passing touchdown in five of the last six games, and his 304 rushing yards are the most by a Nittany Lions quarterback since Michael Robinson had 806 in 2005.


Sophomore Saquon Barkley leads the Big Ten with 1,119 rushing yards and has scored 13 touchdowns. He also leads the conference in all-purpose yards per game (142.1).


Rutgers (2-8, 0-7) will be celebrating Senior Night and is coming off a 49-0 loss at Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights, who started the season 2-1 thanks to back-to-back home wins over Howard (52-14) and New Mexico (37-28), have lost seven straight, all in the Big Ten, by an aggregate score of 290-73. They have been shut out in three of those games and scored seven points in two others.


"This is a tough year," first-year coach Chris Ash said. "It's been a tough year. It's a tough time. But the way the people show up to work every day, the way they believe in each other, trust in each other and go work for each other has been impressive to watch, and that's what I'm most excited about as we continue to move forward."


The Scarlet Knights are averaging just 17.5 points and 296.1 yards per game while allowing 38 points and 444.5 yards. Running back Robert Martin has been an offensive bright spot, rushing for 547 yards on 105 carries, while sophomore linebacker Trevor Morris leads the team with 84 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

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Re: NCAAF Betting Info 11/19

Preview: USC Trojans (7-3) at UCLA Bruins (4-6)


Date: November 19, 2016 10:30 PM EDT


Before the season, UCLA had the young, hot-shot quarterback that had the college football world -- and NFL scouts -- buzzing.


Now, USC does.


Redshirt freshman Sam Darnold is at the forefront of a Trojans resurgence that reached a peak with Saturday's 26-13 victory at previously undefeated Washington, which was No. 4 in the country. Darnold completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards -- the most allowed by the Huskies this season -- and two touchdowns.


Darnold gets a different kind of stage this Saturday night.


USC (7-3, 6-2 Pac-12) has its first six-game winning streak since 2008 as it heads into a game against struggling crosstown rival UCLA (4-6, 2-5) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff makes it just the 11th night game in the history of the series.


The Bruins are without sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen, the former No. 1 quarterback recruit who has missed four games because of a shoulder injury and won't return this season. Darnold has replaced him as the L.A. star.


USC coach Clay Helton inserted Darnold as the starter, replacing Max Browne, for the fourth game of the season. The Trojans lost that day, 31-27 at Utah when the defense allowed a touchdown in the final minute, but it has been all victories since then, riding the spark that Darnold provided.


He is the reigning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Huskies, who have one of the top defensive backfields in the country. Darnold is eighth nationally in passer rating with a rating of 165.8.


"He has just unbelievable game maturity," Helton said.


The Bruins, who are still pushing for a bowl, did end a four-game skid by beating visiting Oregon State last weekend 38-24.


"It's good to get a win," said Bruins coach Jim Mora. "They have been hard to come by this year. These guys have stayed together and have kept a great attitude. So, they got rewarded for it. That was great."


Mora said he has given away only two game balls in his nearly five seasons at UCLA. The second went to quarterback Mike Fafaul on Saturday.


Fafaul, starting his fourth game in place of Rosen, completed 25 of 47 passes for 281 yards. Mora praised the fifth-year senior for sticking it out and not transferring as a graduate student.


"He played behind Brett (Hundley), and then Josh got the job, and he has hung in there," Mora said. "He's everything that you want in a quarterback in terms of studying the game and it being serious to him. It's just great."


Fafaul's challenge this week against USC will be much more difficult than it was against Oregon State. The Trojans held Washington quarterback Jake Browning to 17-of-36 passing with a pair of interceptions by cornerback Adoree' Jackson.


Fafaul has thrown 10 interceptions in 198 attempts, and if the Trojans could fluster Browning, what will they do to Fafaul?


Darnold has had the advantage of a supporting run game -- Ronald Jones II has 487 yards on the ground in the past three games -- an All-American talent at wide receiver in junior JuJu Smith-Schuster and a veteran offensive line that has begun to play to its potential.


Fafaul has had none of that. UCLA's young line has struggled, there is no game-breaker on the outside and the Bruins are second-to-last nationally in rushing at 87.2 yards per game. UCLA gave carries to five scholarship running backs last week and will try to find hot feet this week from among Bolu Olorunfunmi, Soso Jamabo, Jalen Starks, Nate Starks and Brandon Stephens.


It won't be easy. USC held Washington to 17 rushing yards.


"Big men win the game," Helton said. "On both sides of the ball, our big men are really excelling these last six weeks."


UCLA's hopes rest with a solid defense that has allowed only one opponent (Utah) to score more than 27 points in regulation. Defensive end Takkarist McKinley leads the nation with 2.0 tackles per loss per game.


The rivalry game wraps up the conference season for USC, which finishes at home against Notre Dame. The Trojans are a half-game behind Colorado and hold a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Buffaloes, 6-1 in the league, finish with two games against ranked teams -- Washington State and Utah.


USC needs to win Saturday and have Colorado lose to have a chance to win the Pac-12 South. Utah, which is 5-2 in the Pac-12 with games left against Oregon and Colorado, holds the tiebreaker over USC.


The Trojans have won 13 of the past 17 games against UCLA, although two of the victories were vacated due to NCAA sanctions. USC won 40-21 last season.