Week 9 of the NCAA football season gets underway Tuesday with a matchup between Louisiana Tech and undefeated heavy weight Boise State. The rest of the week carries some other matchups that will have you chomping at the bit to make wagers on, and we have picks and analysis for the best ones.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs @ Boise State Broncos (-37 ½)
Tuesday, October 26 – 8:00 PM
There are spreads in college football and then there is this game. This is one of the biggest spreads you will ever see in a division 1 NCAA game with Boise State being favored by 37 ½ points. But is it realistic to think that they will cover this? Well, in the last 3 games Boise State has been on a rampage covering spreads in which they were favored from 38 to 43 points and outscoring their opponents 164-14. The offense is looking unstoppable right now and with top teams falling out of favor each week, Boise State is looking to make their contention for the BCS Championship. Head Coach Chris Peterson is keeping his team focused on the goal and making sure that give no one a doubt that his team is BCS Title worthy.
But don’t write off Louisiana Tech quite yet. Since their 1-4 start to the season they have won 2 straight games beating Utah State 24-6 and pounding Idaho in a 48-35 win. The offense has really been getting it together and producing points. QB Ross Jenkins has completed 70% of his passes and has been putting up some major yardage in his last few games. His partner in the backfield, RB Lennon Creer, is also having a good season averaging 6 yards per carry.
Although Boise State has shut down its opponents entirely for the last 3 games, there is a small chance this game could turn into a bit of shootout when it comes to the spread. The Bulldogs are not a team to be taken lightly at the moment and Boise State will need to be methodical and focused to cover this one.
Betting Trends
Louisiana Tech is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games and 1-9 SU in its last 10 games on the road. In its last 6 games against Boise State it has gone 2-4 ATS. Boise State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 and 4-1 SU in its last 5 when playing at home against Louisiana Tech.
West Virginia Mountaineers (-6 ½) @ Connecticut Huskies
Friday, October 29 – 8:00 PM
Last season the Mountaineers pulled out a close win in this Big East matchup 28-24. This year the Huskies look to keep their undefeated home record alive with a win. The Huskies looked unprepared against Louisville the week after their bye as they fell 26-0 at the hands of the Cardinals. They had just 195 yards in total offense and with QB Cody Endres suspended for the season it doesn’t appear that things will get much better anytime soon. The Huskies will be forced to rely mostly on their starting RB Jordan Todman, who is averaging roughly 140 yards per game on the ground.
WVU is not exactly a powerhouse team this year though. QB Geno Smith has had a decent season with 220 pass yards per game and 15 TD’s, but had problems dealing the defense of LSU and Syracuse. But the real test will come from WVU’s own defense who will be forced shut the run game of UCONN, which no easy task.
Betting Trends
West Virginia is 16-6 SU in its last 22 games and has gone UNDER the total in 4 of its last 6. They are 5-0 SU when playing Connecticut. Connecticut is just 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games against West Virginia and 0-5 SU in its last 5 against WVU.
Georgia Bulldogs (-2 ½) @ Florida Gators
Saturday, October 30 – 3:30 PM
This SEC conference rivalry started out with the sportsbooks favoring Georgia by 3 points, but has since dropped to just 2 ½. Last season when these two heated rivals met the Gators came away with a big 41-17 win which covered the total of 49 ½. But this season may be different.
The Gators are coming into the game with a 4-3 record and averaging 27 points and 329 yards per game. Florida has certainly failed its fair share of tests this season after losing to Alabama 31-6 as 7 point dogs and 33-29 to LSU as 6 point favorites. Not only that, but they gave up a horrible loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs 10-7 after being favored as 9 ½ home favorites. The Gators will be looking to regain some respect in this game as they do not want to add another black mark to their record for this season.
The Bulldogs have had their share of difficulties too starting 1-4 and having to crawl back to .500 in the last 3 games. They have also dropped some big games with losses to South Carolina and Arkansas. However, last week Georgia took a win over Kentucky 44-31 after being favored by 4 points. The Bulldogs found success on the ground with RB Wahaun Early who rushed for 157 yards and 5 TD’s. The Bulldogs will need to force turnovers and play tight defense to win this game.
Betting Trends
Florida is just 1-3-3 ATS in its last 5 games but 21-4 SU in its last 25. When playing at home against Georgia, The Gators are 8-1 SU. Georgia is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road and 12-6 SU in its last 18 games on the road. The team is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 when playing Florida.
Read more Pro Football Handicapping Information Articles
