Kentucky vs. Missouri Total Prediction
The 6-1 Kentucky Wildcats are an underdog at Missouri on Saturday afternoon as the Tigers look to win two in a row following their high-scoring win over Memphis. With the total sitting in the mid-50s on Saturday, will the over hit for bettors?
Game Snapshot
175 Kentucky Wildcats at 176 Missouri Tigers
4:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 27
Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Tigers are 7-point favorites to beat the Wildcats. The total, meanwhile, sits at 54.5 points. As of this writing, 56% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Wildcats.
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky redshirt sophomore QB Terry Wilson completed 13-of-20 passes for 132 yards and added 59 yards and a touchdown on the ground in Saturday’s 24-10 win over South Carolina. Wilson (6’3/205) and Benny Snell’s ability to run the ball have led the Wildcats to a 5-0 start including three SEC wins. The dual-threat quarterback has more rushing touchdowns (2) than interceptions (1) in the last three games. That’s exactly what Wilson needs to do for Kentucky to continue their breakout season under Mark Stoops. The Wildcats get a chance to keep things rolling against Texas A&M on the road next week.
Missouri Tigers
Missouri senior QB Drew Lock completed 23-of-29 passes for 350 yards with four touchdowns in a 65-33 blowout win over Memphis on Saturday. A much better effort for Lock on Saturday than the one he had against Alabama, but — spoiler alert — Memphis isn’t quite as good as Alabama is. Still, this was a nice reminder that the senior signal-caller isn’t bereft of talent, and if this game was close it could have been an even bigger effort. He was accurate, on-time, and didn’t turn the football over. Again, however, it was against a Memphis defense that leaves a lot — a lot — to be desired. A much tougher contest comes next Saturday against Kentucky.
Betting Trends
Kentucky
The under is 4-0 in the Wildcats’ last four games overall.
Missouri
The over is 3-0-1 in the Tigers’ last four home games.
Prediction
Kentucky doesn’t have an explosive offense. The Wildcats want to run the ball with Benny Snell, force turnovers, play good defense and win in the fourth quarter of games. That said, I see them having plenty of success against a Missouri team that doesn’t play defense despite having a head coach in Barry Odom that is supposed to specialize in good defense. With Lock and Co. also coming off an effort in which they racked up 60-plus points against Memphis, the only play here is the over despite Kentucky’s strong defensive performance to date. With Mizzou listed as a touchdown favorite, I see the Tigers pulling the Wildcats into a shootout, not UK dragging the Tigers into a defensive battle.
College Football Prediction: Kentucky/Missouri over 54.5