Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Tuesday 10/23/18
Miami of Ohio Redhawks vs. Buffalo Bulls Preview and Predictions 10-30-2018 in NCAAF
NCAAF Previews 29th October 2018 By Charles Jay for Scores And Stats
by Charles Jay Scores & Stats on 10/29/2018
As Mid-American Conference football action continues on Tuesday night, we have an appetizing matchup on tap for the ESPN2 audience, as it involves two of the league's best quarterbacks, as well as a battle for first place in the East.
The Buffalo Bulls bring a lot of offense to the table in the person of Tyree Jackson, a guy with NFL size who has put together nice numbers behind an offensive line that has protected him about as well as anyone. And the Bulls look like they may be turning the corner with the program which is led by Lance Leipold, who carved out a legend at the Division III level.
The Miami of Ohio Redhawks brought back a lot of experience this season, and that includes QB Gus Ragland, who does an excellent job of taking care of the ball. This team will have to be able to rebound from a tough overtime loss to Army, but if they are in the right frame of mind, they can give anyone in the MAC a 60-minute battle.
This game takes place at UB Stadium in Buffalo, one night after the Bills played host to the New England Patriots in suburban Orchard Park.
TV: ESPN2, 8 PM ET. LINE: Buffalo -7
ABOUT MIAMI OF OHIO: Facing an Army team that had won nine consecutive games at West Point, Miami (3-5 SU, 5-3 ATS) got behind the eight-ball but then put together a great rally, outgaining the Cadets 215-12 in the final period as Army couldn't finish with first-time starter Cam Thomas at quarterback. No, they did not keep Army below its season rushing average (giving up 347 yards on the ground), but they almost won the game in the second overtime, and get points for daring, as coach Chuck Martin elected to go for a two-point conversion and a win after a TD, rather than try to force a third OT. Gus Ragland, who was so close to being tackled that the Army victory cannon went off prematurely, hit a pass, but his receiver fell short of the end zone. Final score - 31-30. Martin wanted to go for two in the waning second of regulation after Miami scored a touchdown, but unfortunately, receiver Nate Becker got flagged for excessive celebration, killing that possibility. Despite its straight-up record (which included losses to Marshall, Cincinnati, and Minnesota to start the season), Miami can tie Buffalo in the MAC East with a victory on Tuesday, which would mean they'll lead the division on the head-to-head tie-breaker. Ragland has completed 60.6% of his passes for 1769 yards. He has been intercepted only three times in 264 attempts.
ABOUT BUFFALO: Buffalo (7-1 SU, 6-2 ATS) was not nearly as competitive against Army as Miami was, having been whipped 42-13 on its own field on September 29. But they have been spotless otherwise, and now sit atop the MAC East with a 4-0 conference record. Their overall mark includes wins over Temple and Big Ten representative Rutgers. Their last outing, ten days prior to Tuesday night, was a tale of two halves. In the first half they fell behind 17-7 to Toledo, but in the second they dominated, scoring 24 unanswered points on the way to a 31-17 victory. Tyree Jackson threw for 326 yards, hitting Anthony Johnson for two touchdown passes, and the Buffalo defense did its job, limiting the Rockets to eight first downs and 33% completions. Jackson was sacked five times, but that is more like an anomaly because he had suffered just one sack in seven games prior to that. Buffalo comes in with a +9 turnover margin, which is among the nation's ten best, and they are ninth nationwide in Passing Efficiency Defense. But this is a team that really has to improve itself when getting close to the goal line; Buffalo is dead last in the country in red zone performance, converting those trips into points only 65.8% of the time. This is in stark contrast to Miami, which has scored points on 96.7% of their journeys into the red zone (fourth best).
EXTRA POINTS
1. Ragland began his career at Miami by throwing 203 passes without an interception.
2. Miami ranks seventh in the nation in kickoff returns, but interestingly enough, next to last in punt returns.
3. In every game, a different Buffalo player wears the #41 jersey to honor Solomon Jackson, a former Bull who passed away after an off-season workout in February 2016. Tyree Jackson donned the "41" jersey on October 13 against Akron.
PREDICTION: Buffalo 28, Miami of Ohio 27
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Kent State Golden Flashes vs. Bowling Green Falcons Preview and Predictions 10-30-2018 in NCAAF
NCAAF Previews 29th October 2018 By Charles Jay for Scores And Stats
by Charles Jay Scores & Stats on 10/29/2018
The Kent State Golden Flashes are coming off a one-point overtime loss to Akron, and since victories have been very hard to come by this season, that was particularly gut-wrenching. Can they get themselves on track against a program that was in bad enough shape to have recently made a coaching change?
Yes, we are talking about the Bowling Green Falcons, who jettisoned Mike Jinks in favor of Carl Pelini, who had been the coordinator of one of the worst defenses in the country. And things did not go well for Pelini, a subject of controversy in the past when he faced a former mentor in his first shot out of the box.
These two down-and-out MAC squads will meet up on Tuesday night at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio (not to be confused with Bowling Green, KY, which is where Western Kentucky is located).
TV: ESPNU, 8 PM ET. LINE: Pick'em
ABOUT KENT STATE: The Flashes took Akron into overtime last week, but came up short on a two-point conversion, which constituted the difference in the 24-23 loss. Woody Barrett gave them the lion's share of the offense, as the quarterback threw for 188 yards and ran for 81 more. For the season, Barrett has completed 60.5% of his throws, with a so-so ratio of eight TD's to eight INT's. But he might be expected to do some business on the ground against Bowling Green, and the same can certainly be said about running back Justin Rankin, who's averaged over five yards a carry. One of the weaknesses with Kent State (1-7 SU, 5-3 ATS) is in passing defense, where they have allowed 293 yards a game, and they are about as bad as it gets when it comes to allowing big plays. Their offensive line has surrendered almost eleven Tackles for Loss per game, which places them dead last among FBS teams, and makes them quite a match for Bowling Green, which doesn't penetrate at all. Believe it or not, the Golden Flashes have found their way into the nation's top ten in Red Zone Defense, as opponents have scored points on only 28 of 39 tries (71.8%). Coach Sean Lewis has moved sophomore Cepeda Phillips, who had ten total tackles as a frosh, into the middle linebacker spot, and he responded with a dozen tackles in his first collegiate start against Akron.
ABOUT BOWLING GREEN: Fed up with Mike Jinks, who hadn't made much progress since being hired off the Texas Tech staff to become the head coach, the Bowling Green athletic department turned to someone with previous head coaching experience to handle the job on an interim basis. And that someone was Carl Pelini, who became embroiled in controversy when he was coaching at Florida Atlantic, in an ugly scenario that included charges of drug use as he was ushered out the door. In his debut with BGSU (1-7 SU, 2-5-1 ATS), Pelini faced off against Ohio and Frank Solich, the first coach to give him a job as an assistant. And it wasn't pretty, as the Falcons lost 49-14 to Ohio, which had 597 yards from scrimmage and 32 first downs. As for bright spots, Scott Miller, the All-MAC receiver, had six catches for 145 yards. Statistically speaking, quarterback Jarret Doege is not having a bad season; he has thrown for 2078 yards, with 20 TD passes (and just eight INT's). Miller has averaged 16.4 yards per reception, and Andrew Clair is averaging 4.7 yards per carry. So yes, there are some working parts on that side of the ball. On defense, however, this team has been found wanting in so many areas. The Falcons have given up 515.5 yards a game, and they have been absolutely horrific against the run, yielding 333 yards a game and 6.6 per carry. This defensive line has gotten no penetration, with six sacks in eight games and ranking 128th in Tackles for Loss. So clearly Pelini was not promoted to the head job based on his accomplishments with a defense that brought back seven starters from last year's 2-10 team.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Maybe a key difference here is that at least Kent State can stop some of its opponents some of the time; according to advanced metrics, they've allowed 4.32 points per scoring opportunity, which actually puts them in the upper half of FBS schools (58th), while Bowling Green surrenders 5.72 points per opportunity, placing them next to last (129th).
2. Matt Johnson, who quarterbacked Bowling Green to MAC titles in 2013 and 2015, is now part of the Kent State coaching staff as a graduate assistant.
3. Bowling Green has won the last five meetings by double-digits, outscoring Kent State by a combined total of 134-23.
PREDICTION: Kent State 42, Bowling Green 37
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