UTSA Roadrunners (-1.5) vs. Army Black Knights
Despite going 12-2 last season and winning Conference USA, UTSA remains an underrated Group of Five team. They are led by senior QB Frank Harris who is complemented by the top wide receiver unit in CUSA. Last week they went blow for blow with AAC power Houston, losing in triple overtime 37-35. Stopping the run is crucial against the Cadets and UTSA is equipped to do just that. Last year the Roadrunners only gave up 3 yards per carry on the ground and were even better against Houston last week giving up just over 3 ypc on 44 carries. Against Coastal Carolina, Army only picked up 11 first downs, while giving up 30 in a ten-point road loss. Certainly, this is not an easy spot for UTSA, having to hit the road after a tough triple-overtime battle. That said, Army is going to struggle with the speed of the UTSA offense and will find a tough time on the ground against the Roadrunner D. We like UTSA here, and while most shops are showing a two, our friends at Bookmaker are currently dealing a 1.5.
Houston Cougars (+3) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
We talked about how UTSA hung tough with the Houston Cougars last week, and here we’ll look to play on Houston against a Texas Tech team who will come into this game without their starting quarterback. Tech blew out FCS squad Murray State on Saturday but will face considerably more resistance in this matchup. Senior QB Clayton Tune leads an explosive offense that averaged 35 ppg last season. He benefits from one of the most explosive receivers in the country in Tank Dell. Texas Tech wants to get back to its roots this season and sling the ball around the yard. To do so, they brought in the offensive coordinator from a potent Western Kentucky offense. They’ll put up some good numbers this year, but this week they’ll face a stingy Houston defense, and going to their backup QB won’t help. We’ll take the 3 points in a game we feel should be closer to a pick ‘em. We see threes across the market, but some of them are juiced, so we advise jumping on the key number of 3 as it may not be there by kickoff. Bovada is offering a straight 3 right now.
