NCAAF Week 1
BYU lost its first road game the last four years and were favored in last two; Cougars have junior QB with 15 career starts- they're 8-12 as road favorites since '08, were 0-3 LY. Dogs covered 12 of their last 16 games on road. UConn has new coach, three QBs back from LY who all threw 125+ passes LY- since '04, they're 19-4 vs spread as home underdogs. Dogs covered 16 of UConn's last 20 home games.
Bowling Green-Western Kentucky haven't met since '07; both clubs have new coaches. Hilltoppers are on 3rd coach in three years. WKU is 9-4 as a home underdog since '09; they covered 12 of last 14 tries as underdogs, but lost 7 starters on defense, have senior QB with eleven career starts. Falcons are 12-3 as road faves since '07; they have 7 starters back on defense, 3 on OL and junior QB with 13 starts.
Colorado won eight of last 11 games vs Colorado State; dogs are 10-6 vs spread in series, but Buffs' last four series wins are all by 14+ points. In LY's game, Buffs outgained State by 214 yards- they're 3-0 as favorites under MacIntyre, have soph QB with 7 starts. Rams have senior QB; he has 22 starts, led State to first bowl in five years LY (won 48-45). CSU lost 4 starters on OL, is 6-7 as an underdog under McElwain.
Tex-San Antonio is coached by Larry Coker, old Miami coach; they are 7-5 as road underdogs last two years; this is only their 4th year as team. Roadrunners have 10 starters back on both sides of ball, but their QB has not started yet. Houston (-2) beat UTSA 59-28 LY; Coogs had +5 ratio in turnovers, yardage was even. Houston is 20-7 as home favorites since '07, 6-4 under Levine- their soph QB started 11 games last year.
Arizona (-10) pounded UNLV 58-13 LY, running ball for 397 yards, but RichRod has been complaining this summer about lack of QB. Wildcats have four starters back on OL to protect whoever new QB is- they're 5-6 as home favorites under Rodriguez. Rebels got to first bowl in 13 years LY; they've got 13 starters back, junior QB with 15 starts, 4 starters are back on OL- they are 6-2 as road dog last two years.
Armadillosports.com
Friday's Tip Sheet
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Brigham Young at Connecticut
As of early Wednesday afternoon, most betting shops had BYU installed as a 16.5-point road favorite with a total of 51. Gamblers can take the Huskies to win outright for a +550 return (risk $100 to win $550).
BYU is coming off a season in which it went 8-5 straight up and 6-7 against the spread. The Cougars dropped a 31-16 decision to Washington at the Fight Hunger Bowl. BYU's other defeats came at Virginia (19-16), vs. Utah (20-13), at Wisconsin (27-17) and at Notre Dame (23-13). The highlight of the year was a 40-21 home win over Texas as a seven-point underdog. The Cougars also won 31-14 at Utah State and trashed Georgia Tech 38-20 as seven-point home 'chalk.'
Bronco Mendenhall's team returns eight starters on offense and six on defense. This is his 10th season as head coach. Junior QB Taysom Hill is the star of this squad and for those unfamiliar, he might remind you of Tim Tebow. Hill is a bruising runner who has speed but does some of his best work between the tackles. He rushed for a team-high 1,344 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2013, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Hill's passing numbers improved as the year went on, and he finished with 2,938 passing yards and a 19/14 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
BYU junior running back Jamaal Williams won't play Friday night due to a one-game suspension. Williams rushed for 1,233 yards and seven TDs last year, averaging 5.7 YPC. Also, WR Devon Blackmon and starting nose tackle Marques Johnson will serve one-game suspensions. Blackmon, a Juco transfer who initially signed with Oregon and played three games for the Ducks in 2012, was the prize recruit in the Cougars' 2014 class. Johnson made 31 tackles last season.
BYU senior LB Alani Fua is 'questionable' with a strained hip flexor. Fua was the Cougars' sixth-leading tackler in 2013 when he was in on 63 stops. He had three sacks, 10 passes broken up, two tackles for loss and a pair of QB hurries.
UConn went 3-9 SU and 5-7 ATS last season, prompting the school to send Paul Pasqualoni packing. On the bright side, the Huskies ended the year on a three-game winning streak. They return seven starters on offense and six on defense.
Bob Diaco takes over as the new head coach after spending the last five years (four at Notre Dame, one at Cincinnati) as Brian Kelly's defensive coordinator. Diaco, who is a first-time head coach, hired Mike Cummings as his offensive coordinator. Cummings held the same post at Central Michigan the last four years. The co-DCs are Anthony Poindexter (former DBs coach at Virginia) and former New England Patriot Vincent Brown, who was also on the UVA staff for the last four seasons.
UConn will go with sophomore Casey Cochran as its starting QB. Cochran started the last four games of 2013. He played eight games last year, completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,293 yards with an 11/4 TD-INT ratio.
UConn has nearly of its WRs back. Geremy Davis is one of the AAC's top wideouts and is coming off a year in which he hauled in 71 catches for 1,085 yards and three TDs. -- UConn's Lyle McCombs rushed for a team-high 670 yards and five TDs while averaging 4.2 YPC in 2013. However, in a recent development, McCombs elected to transfer to Rhode Island.
Since 2005, UConn has posted an incredible 19-4 spread record in 23 games as a home underdog. Only four of those contests had the Huskies catching a double-digit number, and they went 3-1 in those spots.
BYU owns a 15-16 spread record as a road favorite during Mendenhall's tenure. The Cougars went 0-3
Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
UNLV at Arizona
As of early Wednesday afternoon, most books were listing Arizona as a 24-point favorite with a total of 60. Most offshore shops opened UA at 23 or 23.5 and started the total at 57. When most of the Vegas books put up 60, the offshores instantly made the three-point adjustment. Bettors can back the Rebels on the money line for a +1350 payout at 5Dimes (risk $100 to win $1,350).
Arizona has gone 8-5 and won bowl games in back-to-back seasons since Rich Rodriguez took over as head coach. The Wildcats, who were 7-6 ATS last year, blasted Boston College 42-19 as seven-point 'chalk' at the AdvoCare V100 Bowl.
R-Rod's squad returns seven starters on offense and six on defense. UA has to replace its all-time leading rusher in Ka'Deem Carey, who had 1,885 rushing yards and 19 TDs in 2013. The Wildcats must also replace QB B.J. Denker, who rushed for 949 yards and 13 TDs last season. Denker also had 2,516 passing yards with a 16/7 TD-INT ratio.
Rodriguez is turning to a redshirt freshman, Anu Solomon, to take over for Denker as the starting QB. Solomon is a native of Las Vegas who attended prep powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School and was heavily recruited by UNLV. He will be the first Arizona freshman to start a season opener since Willie Tuitama in 2005. Rodriguez told the media, "I thought he deserved the right to start the first game. I don't know who the next guy is, but I told all four to be ready to play, because all four could play. He's playing the best of the four quarterbacks. He has a good feel for the game, and he did things better on a more consistent basis."
After winning only six games in the first three seasons of Bobby Hauck's tenure, UNLV won seven of its last 10 regular-season games to garner its first bowl bid since 2000. The Rebels, who finished 7-6 SU and 8-5 ATS, won outright as underdogs in their last two games to become eligible for the postseason. However, the year ended on a down note when they got spanked by a 36-14 count as 6.5-point 'dogs to North Texas at the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
UNLV returns seven starters on offense and six on defense, but it must replace its top two offensive weapons. Tim Cornett, the school's all-time leading rusher with 3,733 career rushing yards, is gone after rushing for 15 TDs in 2013. Also, QB Caleb Herring isn't around following a season in which he threw for 2,718 yards with a stellar 24/5 TD-INT ratio.
Blake Decker beat out Nick Sherry for UNLV's starting QB job. Decker, who grew up in the Tempe area as an Arizona State fan, has always thought of Arizona as the enemy. Decker, a 23-year-old junior who began his career at BYU and went on a two-year Mormon mission, was one of the nation's best QBs in the Juco ranks in 2013. He threw for 4,241 yards and 47 TDs for Scottsdale (Az.) Community College.
UNLV compiled an abysmal 1-11 spread record in its first 12 games as a road underdog on Hauck's watch. However, the Rebels have gone 3-1 ATS as road 'dogs in back-to-back seasons.
Arizona is 5-6 ATS as a home favorite on R-Rod's watch. The Wildcats are 5-4 ATS in nine games as double-digit favorites (whether at home or away).
Arizona has won 13 consecutive home openers by an average margin of 26 points per game. The Wildcats haven't lost a home opener going all the way back to 1987.
When these schools met at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas last year, Arizona raced out to a 45-6 halftime lead en route to a 58-13 win as a 10.5-point road 'chalk.'
ESPN will have the broadcast at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
Game of the Day: Colorado State vs. Colorado
By Covers.com
Colorado State Rams vs. Colorado Buffaloes (-3, 60)
Throughout the 121-year history of Colorado State football, only two quarterbacks have been able to beat Colorado twice. Garrett Grayson looks to become the third player to achieve the feat Friday when the schools meet in the 86th Rocky Mountain Showdown at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. The Rams are 21-62-2 all-time in the series, with Matt Newton (1999-2000) and Alexander Hutton (1915-16) the only signal-callers to lead Colorado State to multiple wins over the Buffaloes.
Grayson, who threw for a school-record 3,696 yards last season, will be relied on even more this season after Kapri Bibbs declared for the NFL Draft following a sophomore campaign that saw him become only the third running back in NCAA history to rush for 30 or more touchdowns. Colorado opened the Mike MacIntyre era last year with two wins – including a 41-27 victory over the Rams – before dropping six of its last eight to post the school’s eighth straight losing record. The Buffaloes have won eight of the last 11 meetings between the in-state rivals, with each of their last four victories coming by at least 14 points.
LINE HISTORY: Books opened the Buffaloes as 3-point faves. The total opened at 65 but has dropped to 59.
INJURY REPORT: Rams - RB Dee Hart (Questionable, ankle), TE Kivon Cartwright (Questionable, foot),
WHAT CAPPERS SAY: "Colorado improved in just about every statistical category under new head coach Mike MacIntyre in 2013, including wins (from one to four). Quarterback Sefo Liufau showed promise as a freshman and now has a year under his belt. Fellow sophomore Addison Gillam made 119 tackles at linebacker last season." Covers Expert Doc's Sports.
ABOUT COLORADO STATE (2013: 8-6): Grayson will have plenty of familiar targets to throw to in his senior season as the Rams return their five most-used wide receivers and John Mackey Award candidate Kivon Cartwright. Four players will vie to fill the void left behind by Bibbs, including returnees Jasen Oden Jr. and Bryce Peters as well as transfers Dee Hart and Treyous Jarrells. Colorado State returns leading tackler Max Morgan, Butkus Award candidate Aaron Davis and four players with starting experience in the secondary, which should help overcome an inexperienced defensive line.
ABOUT COLORADO (2013: 4-8): MacIntyre has 13 underclassmen listed atop the depth chart, including two young team captains in quarterback Sefo Liufau and middle linebacker Addison Gillam. Liufau threw for 12 touchdowns after replacing Connor Wood midway through his freshman season, but will be hard-pressed to build upon his moderate success without Paul Richardson, who declared for the NFL Draft after a junior season in which he accounted for 10 of Colorado’s 21 receiving touchdowns. Gillam became the first freshman in school history to lead his team in tackles (a freshman-record 119).
TRENDS:
* Under is 5-1 in the last six meetings.
* Rams are 2-5 ATS in their last seven meetings.
* Rams are 5-0 ATS in their last five non-conference games.
* Over is 8-1 in Buffaloes last nine Friday games.
COVERS CONSENSUS: According to Covers Consensus, 56 percent of wagers are backing the Buffaloes.