College Football Betting News and Notes Thursday, September 4

Arizona at Texas-San Antonio
By Joe Nelson
VegasInsider.com

College football is back as this week’s Thursday night matchup is much more intriguing after the Week 1 results than it was when the schedule was released. Arizona will face its first road game in a rematch of one last season’s non-conference games while Texas-San Antonio will look for another major upset after a big win last Friday in Houston. Here is a look at both teams playing Thursday night in college football.

Match-up: Arizona Wildcats at Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners
Venue: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (field turf)
Date: Thursday, September 4, 2014
Time/TV: 8:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Line: Arizona -7
Last Meeting: 2013, Arizona (-24½) 38-13

Texas-San Antonio has played just one season as a full FBS member and this 2014 season will be the first year that the Roadrunners will be bowl eligible as they were not eligible in last season’s 7-5 campaign. Expect Texas-San Antonio to be in the postseason this year and while Marshall is getting a lot of press as the team to beat in Conference USA, the Roadrunners could be the top team in the West side of the conference. The Roadrunners made a big opening statement with a 27-7 win at Houston last Friday, spoiling the opening of the new stadium for the Cougars and grabbing perhaps the biggest win in the history of the program.

That win avenged a 59-28 loss from last season for Texas-San Antonio and less than a week later the Roadrunners will get another shot in a revenge game, hosting an Arizona team that beat them 38-13 last season. This is a veteran Roadrunners team that returned nearly every important player from last season’s very competitive squad and is coached by Larry Coker, who led Miami to a national championship in 2001. Last season, the Roadrunners hosted Oklahoma State in a big non-conference home date, this year they will hope for better results in the marquee home game of the season at the Alamodome.

Last season, Arizona only had a small yardage edge against Texas-San Antonio, but while Arizona capitalized on its opportunities, the Roadrunners left Arizona territory empty on a few possessions to fall behind 24-6 at the half. Arizona had a modest yardage total of only 422 yards in the game, well below the season average for the Wildcats. Even with a lot of new personnel, the Wildcats posted nearly 800 yards last week to crush UNLV and it will be a difficult task for the Roadrunners defensively this week.

Arizona hosted UNLV last Friday night and it was a dominant result with a 58-13 win. Freshman quarterback Anu Solomon threw for four touchdowns in a mild surprise as the starter this season ahead of senior Jesse Scroggins. The Wildcats ran for 7.4 yards per carry as replacing Ka’Deem Carey was not a problem in game 1. UNLV actually had solid production with decent drives in the first half of the game as an Arizona defense that allowed over 400 yards per game last season still looks vulnerable and the competition will get tougher moving forward. This is an extremely athletic Wildcats team that may be the most talented that Rich Rodriguez has had in three years in Tucson, though the team has limited game experience overall.

Texas-San Antonio certainly had some great fortune in the upset on Friday night as a game that most expected would be an offensive showcase featured ugly results for both offenses. The Roadrunners punted on six of their first seven drives with a total of 22 net yards gained as they failed to pull away despite getting four first half turnovers from Houston. Texas-San Antonio managed to score a touchdown in the final minute of the first half in what was a huge score that changed the complexion of the game. Houston was held to negative rushing yards but six turnovers were clearly pivotal as Houston sophomore quarterback John O’Korn had four interceptions and a nightmare game overall leading the Cougars on offense. Houston had to abandon the running game early after falling behind so the Texas-San Antonio run defense may not be as stout as it looked in the box score.

Senior quarterback Tucker Carter did not have to do a lot leading the Texas-San Antonio offense as he passed for just 121 yards with very few downfield throws, averaging just over five yards per pass attempt. The Roadrunners only rushed for just 2.9 yards per carry as once the team built a lead it took a very conservative approach. This was not a great passing team last season and it will be interesting to see if they are able to keep up with an Arizona offense that will likely put up a much better offensive showing. The Texas-San Antonio defense will get a much tougher test this week unless they can create more turnovers against a young quarterback in his first road game.

This will be a big test for Texas-San Antonio to see if they can handle some success and some national attention as this Thursday night game should have a bit more national intrigue after last week’s results. The spread obviously has changed dramatically as the Roadrunners are not nearly the underdog they were last season. Texas-San Antonio narrowly missed covering against Arizona last season but there is an over 17-point adjustment this season with the venue shift. While Arizona is a more prominent program than Houston, this matchup might not bring the same focus for a roster filled with mainly Texas kids, going against a bigger in-state school last week. This also might have been a better upset opportunity for Texas-San Antonio had they lost last week as now Arizona will be well aware of what the Roadrunners can do.

For both teams this is a big opportunity to get a quality non-conference win over a team that will likely be in the postseason. Arizona is just 4-6 S/U in road games under Rodriguez although Texas-San Antonio was just 3-3 S/U in the dome last season. While the NFL matchup will certainly get more viewers by a mile Thursday night, this is a better matchup than it might sound to the casual college football fan and this game will be worth turning to during the breaks.

Line Movement: The early line opened at -8 before dipping to just -7 early this week.

Last Meeting: This game occurred in the third week of last season and it was a tough follow-up game for Texas-San Antonio coming off hosting Oklahoma State in one of the biggest home dates in the history of the program. Arizona led 38-6 in the fourth quarter before Texas-San Antonio got a late score to make the final score more respectable. Arizona had just a 422-379 yardage edge, posting 264 yards on the ground playing with a lead. Texas-San Antonio passed for 277 yards playing from behind most of the game to boost the yardage numbers.

Series History: This is just the second meeting, with Arizona winning and covering last season 38-13 at home.

Arizona Historical Trends: The Wildcats have not posted strong historical numbers in the road favorite role, going just 23-34 ATS as a road favorite since 1980, including going 4-10 ATS as a road favorite since 2008. Should this line climb, Arizona is just 8-19 ATS as road favorite of 10 or more points since 1982. Arizona is just 4-6 S/U & ATS in road games under Rodriguez, going just 2-4 ATS last season. Arizona is also just 17-28 ATS as a favorite of seven or more since 1999.

Texas-San Antonio Historical Trends: The Roadrunners only have ATS numbers for the past two seasons vs. FBS competition. Texas-San Antonio is 4-5 ATS at home and 2-3 ATS as a home underdog since 2012 as the road ATS numbers have been much more promising for the Roadrunners. Texas-San Antonio is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 games as an underdog including last week’s win.

NCAAF Week 2

Arizona (-24) beat UTSA 38-13 LY --total yardage was only 422-379, as Roadrunners passed for 277 yards. Wildcats have four starters back on OL; they gained 787 yards in crushing UNLV 58-13 last week, with 353 rushing yards. UTSA (+12.5) forced six turnovers, won at Houston 27-7, holding Cougars to 208 yards. Roadrunners are 6-3 as underdogs on road since going to I-A. Wildcats covered seven of last nine games out of conference; they're 6-6 as home favorites under Rodriguez.

Armadillosports.com

Game of the Day: Arizona at Texas-San Antonio
By Covers.com

Arizona Wildcats at Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (+7, 56)

Arizona put on a dynamic offensive display in its season opener, but the Wildcats' second contest appears as if it will be anything but a cake walk. The Wildcats hit the road for the first time Thursday when they take on Texas-San Antonio, which is also coming off an impressive win in Week 1. Arizona rolled to a 58-13 victory over UNLV on Friday behind a school-record 787 yards of total offense, including 425 passing yards by Anu Solomon.

“Our guys competed well and kept their poise,” Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez told reporters. “It was a good win and we’ll learn from it. We will get a quick turnaround and get ready for the next one.” Arizona, which registered two 100-yard rushers and two 100-yard receivers Friday, is trying to start 2-0 for the sixth time in the last seven years. Meanwhile, UTSA's football program has only been in existence since 2011 but the Roadrunners are coming off one of the biggest wins in school history.

LINE HISTORY: Oddsmakers opened the Wildcats at 7-point road favorites and the total at 56.

INJURY REPORT: Arizona - DL Reggie Gilbert (questionable, foot). UTSA - T Josh Walker (questionable, undisclosed).

WHAT BOOKS SAY: "We opened the Wildcats at -7.5 before moving them down a half point to -7. Despite the fact that the Roadrunners defeated Houston last week by 20 in a game they were a 7.5 point underdog, USTA is only getting 22 percent of the cash. Despite moving the total up a point and a half to 56.5 we are still seeing a huge decision on the total. 91 percent of the bets are taking the over." - Mike Perry of Sportsbook.ag

WHAT CAPPERS SAY: "Tricky contest given UTSA’s modicum of success under head coach Larry Coker and Arizona’s revitalization behind Rich Rodriguez. The Roadrunners win at Houston last week was not a fluke as they feature a roster loaded with 38 seniors. On the other hand the Wildcats pummeled UNLV, laying 787 yards of offense on the Rebels in their season opener on Saturday. With only five days to prepare for both squads, this game could well feature a well-lit scoreboard." Covers Expert Marc Lawrence.

ABOUT ARIZONA (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS, 1-0 O/U): Solomon, a redshirt freshman, also ran for 50 yards last week as part of a 353-yard rushing attack for the Wildcats, who were led by Terris Jones-Grigsby (124 yards) and Nick Wilson (104). With Austin Hill (110 yards) and Samajie Grant (101) going over the century mark through the air, it marked the first time in school history that Arizona had two 100-yard rushers and a pair of 100-yard receivers in the same game. “We have the ability to be a good offense this year. We just need to carry the confidence like we do," said Hill, who had a 92-yard TD catch-and-run in his first game in 20 months following knee surgery.

ABOUT TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS, 0-1 O/U): The Roadrunners opened their season with a resounding 27-7 road victory against Houston, holding the Cougars scoreless until 1:04 remained. David Glasco II ran for a pair of touchdowns and the UTSA defense forced six turnovers, including four interceptions. One negative for the Roadrunners is they committed 14 penalties for 115 yards - a stat they surely will need to clean up if they are going to upset the Wildcats.

TRENDS:

* Under is 5-0 in Roadrunners last five games overall.
* Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games.
* Roadrunners are 8-1 ATS in their last nine non-conference games.
* Over is 4-1 in Wildcats last five road games.

COVERS CONSENSUS: According to Covers Consensus, 78 percent of wagers are backing the Arizona Wildcats.