LOUISIANA TECH (1 - 1) at NORTH TEXAS (1 - 1) - 9/11/2014, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NORTH TEXAS is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
NORTH TEXAS is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) when playing with 6 or less days rest over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
NORTH TEXAS is 1-0 against the spread versus LOUISIANA TECH over the last 3 seasons
NORTH TEXAS is 1-0 straight up against LOUISIANA TECH over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
HOUSTON (1 - 1) at BYU (2 - 0) - 9/11/2014, 9:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
HOUSTON is 1-0 against the spread versus BYU over the last 3 seasons
BYU is 1-0 straight up against HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
1 of 1 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
LOUISIANA TECH vs. NORTH TEXAS
Louisiana Tech is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Louisiana Tech's last 14 games
North Texas is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of North Texas's last 11 games
HOUSTON vs. BYU
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston's last 9 games on the road
Houston is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of BYU's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of BYU's last 6 games at home
Louisiana Tech at North Texas
Louisiana Tech: 2-14 ATS in road games after a 2 game road trip
North Texas: 8-1 ATS when playing with 6 or less days rest
Houston at BYU
Houston: 1-9 ATS after allowing 6 points or less last game
BYU: 5-3 UNDER after allowing 100 or less rushing yards last game
Battle of the Cougars
By Sportsbook.ag
Houston Cougars (1-1) at BYU Cougars (2-0)
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: BYU -18.5, Total: 58
After a beating of Texas this past weekend, the BYU Cougars host the Houston Cougars as they attempt to stay undefeated.
Houston did not look good in the first game of the season, falling by a score of 27-7 against the UTSA Roadrunners, but bounced back in an easy matchup facing Grambling State, prevailing by a score of 47-0 in against a Tigers team that was 1-11 last season. Not too much should be taken from the win, since Grambling state hurt themselves with 15 penalties for 147 yards while also turning the ball over six times as the Cougars converted only 4-of-14 on third downs.
BYU has looked great in its first two games, first handling Connecticut with a 35-10 win followed by a huge 41-7 defeat of Texas in Austin as one-point underdogs. It was their defense that was the hero here, grabbing four takeaways and holding a usually potent Longhorns offense to a woeful 258 total yards. The rushing attack for the Cougars was unstoppable with 248 yards on the ground; giving them two consecutive games over 200 rushing yards.
Last year these programs met and both offenses were clicking in a 47-46 barnburner, which BYU won, but failed to cover as a 10-point favorite. Both teams threw for more than 400 yards with the big difference coming from the Brigham Young runners as they outpaced Houston on the ground 264 to 48.
Bettors should take into consideration that BYU is a mere 7-26 ATS (21%) after a two-game road trip since 1992 while Houston is 1-9 ATS after allowing six points or less in their previous game in the same timeframe. There are no significant injuries going into this contest for either team.
Houston’s usually potent offense currently ranks 80th in rushing (218 YPG) and 102nd in passing (124.5 YPG), and has not faced a tough team such as BYU. Leading their offense is QB John O’Korn who was solid last season (3,117 yards, 28 TD, 10 INT) and has completed 35-of-68 passes (52%) for 404 yards (5.9 YPA) while throwing just a single touchdown and four picks this year. It was his play that took the team down against UTSA as he threw 4 INT and completed a mere 21-of-43 attempts.
It does get a little more promising with the running game, as HB Kenneth Farrow has rushed for 151 yards on 20 attempts (7.6 YPC) and a touchdown while last year’s top rusher, HB Ryan Jackson, has two touchdowns in 13 attempts (50 yards). The team likes to spread the ball out, and through the first couple of contests they already have three different players with seven or more receptions. Leading the way is WR Deontay Greenberry (206 yards) while WR Greg Ward Jr. (40 yards) has the sole receiving touchdown.
It is hard to size up the Cougars defense at this point of the season with their shutout victory coming against such a weak team, but they have allowed their opponents to gain 263 yards per game so far. Both LB Derrick Mathews (16 tackles, 1 sack) and DB Trevon Stewart (10 tackles) hope they can continue to put forth solid performances as this team looks to win their second straight contest.
BYU has been phenomenal in the early going while ranking in the top-65 at both passing (244.5 YPG) and rushing (226.5 YPG) with 38.0 PPG (42nd in FBS). QB Taysom Hill (489 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) has improved through the air this year after throwing 14 interceptions in 2013, but threw for just 181 yards and 1 INT in the win over Texas.
The real threat comes from Hill’s legs, which have propelled him to 194 yards (5.4 YPC) and five touchdowns after leading the team with 1,344 rushing yards (5.5 YPC, 10 TD) in 2013. Helping him in the backfield will be HB Jamaal Williams who missed the first game of the year, but went for 89 yards (4.7 YPC) against the Longhorns. These two players combined for 2,577 yards on the ground last year and should be the main focal point for any opposing defense. With last year’s top receiver, Cody Hoffman, out of the picture, the Cougars are targeting plenty of players, and four wideouts have caught at least five passes with WR Jordan Leslie (107 yards) leading the way.
As mentioned previously, the defense for BYU is the main reason for the team's success, having allowing only 8.5 PPG and 306.5 YPG to their opponents over the first two weeks. LB Bronson Kaufusi had two sacks in the first game of the year and hopes to be an important piece of this defense moving forward.
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Houston at BYU
By Joe Nelson
VegasInsider.com
The third week of the College football season starts Thursday night with a matchup between Houston and BYU. While the season in Houston started poorly with an upset loss, BYU has impressively moved to 2-0 with back-to-back road wins, including last week’s huge win at Texas. Here is a look at the teams and this week’s ESPN matchup between two sets of Cougars.
Match-up: Houston Cougars at BYU Cougars
Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
Time/TV: 9:00 PM ET – ESPN
Line: BYU -17.5, Over/Under 57.5
Last Meeting: 2013, BYU (-10) 47-46 at Houston
Houston is coming off of an easy home win vs. FCS Grambling last week. The Cougars were led by RB Kenneth Farrow, who rushed for 130 of Houston's 275 rush yards (6.9 YPC) in a 47-0 win. It was a nice comeback victory after a disappointing home loss to UT-San Antonio to open the season - a game in which the Cougars totaled -26 rush yards. QB Josh O'Korn has gotten off to a bit of a disappointing start. He is completing just 51.5% of his throws with just one touchdown and four interceptions. This week, Houston hits the road for the first time this season to take on BYU.
This is a tough spot for BYU. The Cougars are off of a 41-7 win at Texas. It was a hard-fought game for one half as BYU led just 6-0 at the midpoint before opening the floodgates with a 28-point third quarter. Do-everything QB Taysom Hill led the way with three rushing touchdowns. Through two games, Hill is completing 73% of his passes and averaging 244.5 pass YPG; but the real threat he presents is with his feet as he already has 196 rushing yards and five touchdowns. BYU will try to avoid a letdown performance here, something the Cougars couldn't avoid last year. After 2013's blowout win over Texas, the Cougars returned home and laid an egg against Utah - losing by seven points as a six-point favorite.
Defensively both of these teams have been very solid through two weeks. BYU is allowing just 76.5 rushing yards per game on 2.3 yards per carry. Opposing QB's are completing just 57% against BYU with one touchdown and two interceptions. Houston's 'D' (which returned nine starters from 2013), ranks 24th against the pass, 35th against the run, and 11th in total yards allowed - albeit stats that may be skewed in their favor considering their two opponents were UT-San Antonio and FCS Grambling.
These two met for the first time ever in 2013 in one of the more entertaining games of the season. The game featured two ties, eight lead changes, and neither team led by more than 10 points. Taysom Hill threw a touchdown with 1:08 left to give BYU the lead. The defense held on Houston's final drive and BYU won, 47-46. BYU tallied 681 yards of total offense, including 264 rushing yards on 71 total carries. Houston's O'Korn completed 29-of-45 passes for 363 yards with three touchdowns but also three interceptions. Houston was able to cover as the double-digit underdog (+10).
BYU is 10-3 S/U & ATS in its last 13 home openers, including back-to-back ATS wins by an average of 21.5 points. BYU is 7-2-1 ATS in the last 10 games as a home favorite of 17 points or more. Houston is 5-18 S/U & 8-14 ATS in its last 23 road openers, but is 3-2 S/U & ATS in the last five years. Houston is 8-4 ATS in the last 12 as a double-digit underdog, but that record worsens to just 5-10 ATS as a road underdog of 17 points or more dating back to 1997.
NCAAF Week 3
Third straight road game for Louisiana Tech, which allowed 852 yards in splitting first two games; Tech is 9-4 vs spread in last 13 games as a road underdog, 2-0 this year- they lost 28-13 (+3) at home to North Texas LY, getting outrushed 165-37. North Texas hammered SMU 43-6 last week after getting waxed at Texas; Mean Green covered eight of ten as a home favorite under McCarney. UNT has only nine starters back from LY- both teams have new QBs this season.
BYU (-10) won 47-46 at Houston LY, ringing up 41 first downs while outgaining Coogs 681-483. BYU scored 76 points in opening road wins at Cincy/Texas- they have 453 rushing yards in two games. Houston got upset at home by UTSA in opener when they had six turnovers, then whacked a I-AA team last week; they're 13-7 as road dogs since '05, 4-1 under Levine. BYU is 14-8 as home favorites last four years; they have junior QB with 17 starts. Houston's soph QB has 13 starts.
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