The Texas State Bobcats (+7) aren’t traveling far to battle the UTSA Roadrunners at the Alamodome. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN+ and kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. These two teams faced off last year with the final outcome being a 44-14 victory for UTSA.
Texas State Bobcats at UTSA Roadrunners Betting Preview
Texas State is the road underdog in this game and is currently getting 7 points. If they want to take the moneyline, bettors would currently have to lay down $300 in order to win $100 back on the Roadrunners (-300). The Bobcats are getting +220 moneyline odds. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 53 points. Should the underdog gets ahead early, it will likely create a solid in-game betting scenario.
Sharp bettors are siding with the Bobcats, as the line opened at -11. The total has not moved after being set initially at 53.
The Bobcats have lost 2.0 units so far and are 0-2-1 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U record of 2-1. The Roadrunners are down 3.0 units this season. The team is 0-3 ATS and has an O/U record of 3-0.
The Bobcats are 1-2 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Roadrunners are 0-3 SU.
The Bobcats are aiming to bounce back after a 41-31 defeat to South Alabama last week. Willie Jones III completed just 16 passes on 30 attempts for 205 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Jones III (58 yards on 17 rush attempts, one TD) also mounted the ground attack and was complemented by Anthony D. Taylor (44 yards on 14 carries). Hutch White (two receptions, 46 yards, one TD) and Javen Banks (two catches, 82 yards, one TD) shared the receiving duties in the defeat.
UTSA just dropped a 41-17 game to Kansas State. The defense allowed the Wildcats to kill the clock by rushing for 164 yards on 44 attempts, including two rush TDs. Isaiah Zuber put up a productive outing, recording 144 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches for Kansas State. As a group, the Roadrunners collectively completed 19-of-34 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Cordale Grundy went 14-for-23 for 108 yards and one touchdown while D.J. Gillins was five-of-11 for 49 yards and one touchdown. B.J. Daniels (47 rushing yards on 16 attempts) led the running game while Greg Campbell Jr. (six receptions, 41 yards, one TD) and Blaze Moorhead (three catches, 33 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the loss.
Texas State has run the ball on 60.6 percent of its offensive possessions this year while UTSA has an overall rush percentage of 47.4 percent. The Bobcats have produced 178 rush yards/game and have three touchdowns on the ground this year. The Roadrunners are averaging 81 rush yards per game and have two total rushing TDs.
The Bobcats offense has averaged 185 yards in the air overall and has three passing scores so far. The Roadrunners have recorded 177 pass yards per game and also have three total pass TDs.
Defensively, Texas State appears to have the upper hand in both facets. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 123 yards and pass for 262 yards per game. The UTSA D has given up 308.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 173.7 yards per game to opposing runners. The Bobcats are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of 7.19 to opponents, while the Roadrunners have allowed an ugly 12.11 ANY/A.
Offensively, Jones III is up to 284 passing yards this season. The signal-caller has completed 46 percent of his 50 attempts with two scores through the air and two interceptions. Jones III has a 3.20 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 6.54 over the last two outings.
Cordale Grundy has completed 30-of-56 passes for 295 yards, one TD and one INT for UTSA. His ANY/A sits at a terrible 3.60 for the season and 3.70 over his past two games.
NCAA Pick: Texas State Bobcats vs. UTSA Roadrunners
SU Winner – UTSA, ATS Winner – UTSA, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes
The UTSA defensive unit has recorded six sacks on the year while Texas State has two.
UTSA has lost three fumbles this season while Texas State has lost four.
The Bobcats offense has produced four pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Roadrunners have put up zero such plays.
Both defenses have allowed four pass plays of 40 or more yards. The Texas State defense has given up six pass plays of 30+ yards while UTSA has yielded nine such plays.
The Texas State offense has created five rushing plays of 20+ yards, while UTSA has created four such runs.
The Bobcats defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Roadrunners have given up four such runs.
UTSA was favored by 20 points in its previous outing and the Over/Under was 46.5. The over cashed and UTSA did not cover in that 41-17 defeat to Kansas State.
Over its last three games, UTSA is 0-3 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.
In its last three contests, Texas State is 0-2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Texas State was favored by 10 points in its last game and the O/U was set at 48.5. The over cashed and Texas State failed to cover in the 41-31 defeat to South Alabama.
As a team, Texas State has averaged 4.5 yards per carry over its last two outings.
UTSA has averaged 3.7 yards per carry over its last two.
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