Arizona Wildcats (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) vs. Texas-San Antonio RoadRunners (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS)
College Football Week 2
Date and Time: Thursday, September 4, 8:00pm
Where: Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
TV: ESPN
by Bob, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: ARZ -6.5 / UTSA +6.5
Over/Under Total: OFF
This Thursday night on ESPN, we will kick off week two of college football. The Arizona Wildcats will travel into the Alamodome to take on the upstart University of Texas – San Antonio Roadrunners. Both teams come in at 1-0 not only as their true records, but both teams covered the Vegas spread in week as well. Arizona destroyed UNLV 58-13, while the Roadrunners stunned the Houston Cougars 27-7 on Houston’s home field. The line for this game opens with Arizona favored on the road by 6.5 points. The over/under line for total points has not yet been set. From the looks of it so far, this line may increase due to the amount of action being placed on Arizona. Much of that is due to the fact that Arizona is a “known” program, but it is also due to the record breaking butt-kicking they gave UNLV. Let’s take a moment here to see which side is the right bet to make.
The home underdog has been a safe bet to make on Thursday night football over the last few seasons, and this just might be another case of that. UTSA shocked a Houston team that is used to putting up big numbers. The Roadrunners held Houston to just 7 points and 208 yards of total offense. Now, Houston does not have the same talent as they had in years passed, but they are still expected to put the ball in the endzone while slinging it around the field. UTSA made a huge statement in that game, but there is one negative… The Roadrunner offense. Even though their defense came to play, and they won the game by almost 3 touchdowns, the offense was less than stellar. Quarterback, Tucker Carter, threw for only 121 yards and no touchdowns. Running back, David Glasco II, was able to cross the goal line twice on just 81 yards rushing for the Roadrunners. The key to winning this game over Arizona will rest on both sides of the ball. The defense needs to repeat the performance they had against Houston, but the offense will NOT be able to repeat what they did and expect to win. Tucker Carter will need to be a little more effective and more of a threat in order to keep the Wildcats defense on their heels. If UTSA can do this, it could make for an interesting Thursday night.
Arizona will be heading into this game after a 58-13 beatdown of the UNLV Rebels. Quarterback, Anu Solomon threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns in his first career start, and Arizona broke a 45-year-old school record with 787 total yards in a season. It does not matter how under matched your opponent is, those numbers are impressive. I told you last week that Rich Rodriguez was making his mark on the Arizona program, and offensive numbers like that are complete proof of that. This Arizona offense is very scary. Putting up over 400 yards in the air, then combining that with over 300 on the ground….ouch. Any team that does not play disciplined defense against these guys could be in for a long day, and I mean ANY team. Arizona has all of a sudden become a team to fear in the Pac-12. With all that said, lets see if they can repeat that success versus a team that actually puts up a fight. The Roadrunners, I know for a fact, will not allow the 300 plus yards rushing, but the passing could cause some issues. Arizona will need to be balanced on offense in order to keep Texas- San Antonio thinking but I do like the Wildcats to be able to put some points on the board in this one.
Bob’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I am a member of a few Vegas insider publications and I have researched this game in-depth. Of the three sources I use, one of them has 87% of the money on Arizona, the other 84%, and lastly, the final publication says 85% of the money is on Arizona. We cannot be certain which number is exactly right, but that does not matter…A LOT of cash is being laid on the Wildcats. If you look at these teams and this line from the surface, it appears that Las Vegas wants the money on Arizona and that is exactly what is happening right now. Lets all play this smart. Lay off this game til about Thursday afternoon and watch the spread increase to about 7.5 or 8, then lay your cash on the Roadrunners of UTSA. The average sports fan would assume that Arizona would dominate this game, but based on the numbers I have seen and just how things work in the world of sports betting, this game will be much closer than people imagine. PICK THE ROADRUNNERS OF UTSA!
