Auburn vs. Texas A&M Total Prediction
Two nasty defenses will meet Saturday afternoon in College Station. Will the under cash when Texas A&M hosts Auburn this weekend?
Game Info
Who: Auburn (6-2) at Texas A&M (5-3)
When: 12:00PM ET, Saturday, November 4
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
Current Point Spread & Over/Under Total
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the over/under for this SEC matchup sits at 51.5 points, down from the original number of 54.5. As for the point spread, the Aggies opened as 12.5-point home underdogs but are now 15-point dogs at the majority of online sportsbooks.
Bet College Football Week 10 Games
Who is the Public Backing?
As of this writing, over 60% of public bettors are backing the home underdog and taking the points. Bettors have watched the Aggies cover five of their seven games this year and are hopping aboard. The Tigers, meanwhile, are 6-2 straight up but just 3-3 at the betting window in 2017.
Key Betting Trends
The underdog is 4-0 against the spread in the last four meetings between these two teams but the road squad has covered in all five of the last five meetings, so the two key series trends are conflicting.
OUR PREDICTION: This game might not be close, but I don’t see it being high-scoring. Both of these defenses are too good.
Through eight games in 2017, Auburn ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense (15.6 points per game) and 13th in total defense (302.8). If the season ended today, those totals would mark the program’s best since at least 2007. Only Ole Miss has been able to top 400 yards or 20 points against Auburn’s defense and the Rebels gained half of their 23 points in the second half versus the Tigers’ backups. The pass rush has already matched last season’s total of 25 sacks. Auburn has also forced 13 turnovers in eight games, which is only four fewer than it had in 13 games all of last season.
A&M is no slouch defensively, either. The Aggies are second in the nation with 30 sacks this season, which equates to 3.75 per game. They also rank seventh in the SEC in total defense and 10th in scoring. A total of 13 different A&M players have sacks this season.
Here’s the kicker: The Aggies expect freshman quarterback Kellen Mond to play this weekend but he was injured early in the fourth quarter of the team’s 35-14 loss to Mississippi State last weekend. Redshirt freshman Nick Starkel would step in for Mond again if the latter can’t play. If Mond plays, he could be limited. If he doesn’t play, the Aggies will turn to a backup that faces a nasty Auburn defense. Either way, I like the under on Saturday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 10 PICK: AUBURN/TEXAS A&M UNDER 51.5