College Football betting trends, odds and predictions for Thursday, October 19th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
MEMPHIS (5 - 1) at HOUSTON (4 - 2) - 10/19/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MEMPHIS is 24-46 ATS (-26.6 Units) off a win against a conference rival since 1992.
MEMPHIS is 15-35 ATS (-23.5 Units) after 2 or more consecutive straight up wins since 1992.
Head-to-Head Series History
MEMPHIS is 2-0 against the spread versus HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
HOUSTON is 1-1 straight up against MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
LA LAFAYETTE (3 - 3) at ARKANSAS ST (3 - 2) - 10/19/2017, 7:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ARKANSAS ST is 14-4 ATS (+9.6 Units) against conference opponents over the last 3 seasons.
ARKANSAS ST is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) after playing a conference game over the last 3 seasons.
ARKANSAS ST is 13-3 ATS (+9.7 Units) off a win against a conference rival over the last 3 seasons.
LA LAFAYETTE is 38-22 ATS (+13.8 Units) in road games against conference opponents since 1992.
LA LAFAYETTE is 41-24 ATS (+14.6 Units) in road games after playing a conference game since 1992.
Head-to-Head Series History
ARKANSAS ST is 1-1 against the spread versus LA LAFAYETTE over the last 3 seasons
ARKANSAS ST is 1-1 straight up against LA LAFAYETTE over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE @ ARKANSAS STATE
Louisiana-Lafayette is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Arkansas State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Arkansas State is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games at home
MEMPHIS @ HOUSTON
Memphis is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Memphis is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games
College Football Week 8
Underdogs covered last four Memphis-Houston games; Tigers’ 48-44 (+6.5) win over Houston LY was their first in last seven series games. Memphis split its two road games this year, losing 40-13 (+4.5) at UCF, then routing UConn 70-31 (-14.5). Tigers won tough 30-27 game with Navy LW; they lost last three visits to Houston, by 1-10-41 points. Cougars lost 45-17 as a 13-point favorite at Tulsa; they allowed 200+ rushing yards in their two losses, 152 or less in their four wins. AAC home favorites are 7-4 vs spread in conference play.
Arkansas State scored 94 points in winning its first two Sun Belt games, by 18-34 points; they lost three of last four games with Louisiana, but won two of last three played here. Underdogs covered four of last six series games. Under Anderson, ASU is 12-5 vs spread as a home favorite. Ragin’ Cajuns allowed 16-7 points in their last two games, after allowing average of 53.8 ppg in first four games. Under Hudspeth, ULL is 18-11 vs spread as road underdogs, 1-2 this season. Sun Belt home favorites are 3-6 vs spread in conference play.
Armadillosports.com
Memphis at Houston
By Joe Nelson
VegasInsider.com
This week’s Thursday night game figures to play a big role in determining the 2017 AAC West champion. Memphis and Houston are both 2-1 in conference play with Navy also in the mix on top of the division standings.
Here is a look at a key Thursday night game to kick off the college football weekend with these teams delivering an entertaining 48-44 result late last season.
Matchup: Memphis Tigers at Houston Cougars
Venue: At TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas
Time/TV: Thursday, Oct. 19, 8:00 p.m. ET ESPN
Line: Houston -3, Over/Under 60½
Last Meeting: 2016, at Memphis (+6½) 48, Houston 44
Houston made national waves last season climbing as high as #6 in polls on the strength of a huge opening weekend victory over #3 Oklahoma. The Cougars would beat then #3 Louisville late in the season as well but wound up dropping three conference games and lost badly in the Las Vegas Bowl for a 9-4 final tally.
As was widely speculated late last season Tom Herman left Houston after just two successful seasons to take over at Texas. With no head coaching experience, Major Applewhite was hired to lead the Cougars in 2017 even though he coached the team in the 34-10 loss to San Diego State in the bowl season. Applewhite was a quarterback at Texas and spent six seasons under Mack Brown in Austin before serving as the offensive coordinator at Houston the past three seasons.
Houston’s 2017 started with some logistical challenges due to Hurricane Harvey as the opening week game with Texas-San Antonio wound up cancelled. The Cougars won Applewhite’s regular season debut with a win at Arizona, a victory that now looks a bit more impressive than it did at the time. A 27-24 loss to Texas Tech was a competitive performance before the Cougars won their first two AAC games in tight contests with Temple and SMU.
Last week’s loss at Tulsa was a setback however with an ugly 45-17 result. Houston struggled to stop Tulsa’s rushing attack allowing 288 yards on the ground and the Cougars also had three turnovers. It was a misleading final score however as it was still a seven-point game into the fourth quarter as Tulsa scored a pair of touchdowns in the final minute of the game.
Kyle Allen was one of the nation’s top recruits at Texas A&M in 2014. He had mixed results in two seasons with the Aggies before transferring to Houston last season, sitting out last year with the expectation to be the starter this season. Allen didn’t play particularly well in the first three games of the season with four interceptions and he has been replaced by senior Kyle Postma who had previously made two starts and saw some meaningful action the past two seasons when Greg Ward was injured, including leading a huge 35-34 win over Memphis two years ago. Postma’s numbers aren’t any better than Allen’s at this point in the season, though he is a bit more of a rushing presence.
The Cougars are actually posting stronger rushing numbers than last season, gaining 4.4 yards per carry with Duke Catalon nearly approaching his season total from a year ago when he led the Cougars in net rushing yards. A returning duo of receivers is on pace for strong contributions as well with seniors Steven Dunbar and Linell Bonner combining for 77 receptions in six games.
Houston had very impressive defensive scoring numbers until last week, holding Arizona to 16, Texas Tech to 27, and SMU to 22 for three strong showings against high scoring teams. Sophomore defensive lineman Ed Oliver is one of the highest regarded NFL draft prospects for the 2019 draft but he has battled a knee injury in recent weeks, though he has played the past two weeks since leaving the Temple game on September 30.
The Houston defense will be severely tested again this week as 5-1 Memphis has scored nearly 37 points per game. The Tigers lost 40-13 at UCF earlier this season but delivered a marquee non-conference win over UCLA and last week picked up a potentially big tiebreaker with a win over Navy, who currently leads the AAC West at 3-1.
Only a handful of quarterbacks nationally have been more productive than Memphis senior Riley Ferguson who seamlessly stepped in to replace NFL Draft pick Paxton Lynch last season. Ferguson threw for nearly 3,700 yards last season with 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and he is on a similar pace this season. Anthony Miller had 95 catches last season and in his senior season he already has 45 catches and nine touchdowns.
Memphis is on a stronger rushing pace this season as sophomore Darrell Henderson has incredibly gained 8.1 yards per rush while the top two rushers from last season Doroland Dorceus and Patrick Taylor remain positive contributors as well, though Dorceus is still working his way back from an early season injury. Collectively the Tigers have gained 5.1 yards per carry this season, up from just 4.3 last season.
Memphis caught some breaks last week with Navy committing five turnovers as the Tigers held on for a 30-27 win. The 3-0 start to the season also featured close calls over UL-Monroe and FCS Southern Illinois as well as the big 48-45 win over UCLA at home. Memphis will have to play at Tulsa in November while hosting improved Tulane and SMU teams in the remaining AAC games but a win this week will put the Tigers in the driver’s seat for their first trip to the conference championship game.
Should Memphis continue to have success Mike Norvell in just his second season as the head coach at Memphis, he could get some attention from major conference programs. He led successful offenses under Todd Graham and Tulsa, Pittsburgh, and Arizona State and as one of the younger coaches in the nation he would be an attractive fit for several programs leading a fan-friendly offense.
Last Season: These teams didn’t meet until Thanksgiving weekend last season with Navy already claiming the AAC West title. Both teams were headed to bowl games but Houston’s bid to be the top Group of Five squad had expired and the rumors of Herman heading to Texas were strong. The Cougars were still ranked team when they visited Memphis as they had just stunned then #3 Louisville 36-10 in a national TV game.
The teams traded scores early but Memphis managed to score the final 13 points of the first half to double-up Houston 34-17. Houston scored 20 consecutive points to start the second half to lead 37-34 with about seven minutes remaining. Memphis hit a long touchdown pass just after the four-minute mark but Houston answered with 1:29 on the clock to still lead by three. Ferguson with his feet and his arm brought the Tigers to the Houston 30-yard-line in just two plays to at least be in position to set-up a tying field goal attempt. A pass interference call gave Memphis 15 more yards and on 3rd-and-5 with 19 seconds remaining Ferguson hit Miller for the game-winning score.
Historical Trends:
Last season’s win snapped a six-game slide for Memphis in this series though they have covered in the past two meetings.
Going back to 1996 Houston has won 10 of 16 meetings with an 8-8 ATS mark, going 4-2 ATS the past six meetings with these teams meeting each year since 2009.
Memphis is on a 15-10-1 ATS run as a road underdog going back to the 2012 season though Memphis is just 2-6 in the past eight instances as an underdog regardless of venue.
Houston is 47-12 S/U and 31-25-1 ATS at home since 2008.
The Cougars went just 2-4 ATS at home last season however and are just 8-14 ATS as a home favorite since 2014, though 2-1 ATS this season under Applewhite.
As a single-digit favorite Houston is just 4-7 ATS since 2015 as the main area of success for the Cougars has been in the underdog role where Houston is 14-1 ATS since 2013 with nine S/U wins.