The Florida Atlantic Owls (-5.5) are heading north to face their CUSA nemesis Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Johnny (Red) Floyd Stadium. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET and interested parties can view the action live on STAD,FCBK.
Florida Atlantic Owls at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Betting Preview
In this Saturday Conference USA game, Florida Atlantic is labeled as the favorite and is currently giving up 5.5 points. The Owls are also receiving -235 moneyline odds while the Blue Raiders are +185. If one team finds paydirt early on, it will probably generate a worthy betting scenario in-game.
The game’s line originally opened at 3 but sharp bettors have been siding with the Owls.
The Owls are down 1.0 unit so far and 0-4 against the spread (ATS). The team has posted an O/U mark of 3-0. The Blue Raiders have gained 0.0 units this season. The team is 1-2 ATS and owns an O/U record of 1-2.
The Owls are 2-2 straight up (SU) and they haven’t faced any CUSA competition yet. The Blue Raiders are 1-2 SU overall and are also 0-0 SU in conference play.
The Owls came up short to UCF 56-36 in a thumping where their defense allowed the Knights to pass for 306 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 239 yards and four scores. Offensively, Chris Robison completed just 13 passes on 26 attempts for 124 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Devin Singletary (131 rushing yards on 25 attempts, three TDs) and the signal-caller Robison (34 yards on 10 carries) led the running attack. Willie Wright (six receptions, 58 yards) and Jovon Durante (four catches, 35 yards) handled the receiving duties in the defeat.
Two weeks ago, Georgia got the victory against this Middle Tennessee team by a score of 49-7. Brent Stockstill completed 19-of-29 passes for 138 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Terelle West (74 yards on 17 rush attempts) spearheaded the running game as Patrick Smith (nine receptions, 77 yards, one TD) and Brad Anderson (six catches, 45 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the loss.
Florida Atlantic’s run the ball on 58.5 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Middle Tennessee has an overall rush percentage of 51.9 percent. The Owls have rushed for 221 yards/game and have 13 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Blue Raiders are logging 121 rush yards per game and have two total rushing TDs.
If 2018 results are any indication, then it’s looking like the Owls ought to have the edge in the trenches, as their offensive line has allowed just 16 sacks while the D-line logged 38 sacks. The Blue Raiders, on the other hand, have given up 20 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing QBs on just 31 occasions.
The Owls offensive scheme has tallied 243 yards/game through the air overall and has five passing scores so far. The Blue Raiders have put up 235 pass yards per contest and have seven total pass TDs.
On the defensive side of the ball, Florida Atlantic has allowed 221 rush yards and 254 pass yards per game. The Middle Tennessee defense has allowed 250.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 179.7 yards per game to opposing runners. The Blue Raiders are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of 7.92 to opponents, while the Owls have given up an ugly 10.42 ANY/A.
Offensively, Robison is up to 752 passing yards this season, and has completed 66 percent of his 92 attempts with four passing scores and three interceptions. Robison’s got a 7.17 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 2.00 over the past two outings.
We expect the Owls to control tempo by putting the ball in the hands of their running backs. Devin Singletary (257 rush yards, five rush TDs) and Kerrith Whyte, Jr. (100 rush yards, two rush TDs, one receiving TD) have delivered in the offensive gameplans for Florida Atlantic.
For the home team, Brent Stockstill has managed to complete 43-of-65 passes for 316 yards, two TDs and two INTs. Stockstill’s ANY/A stands at a terrible 3.32 for the season and 9.20 over his past two outings.
The Blue Raiders will also try to control the game’s pace by turning to their backfield. In addition to Brad Anderson (82 receiving yards), Patrick Smith (zero rush yards, 74 receiving yards, one receiving TD) and CJ Windham (zero rush yards, 25 receiving yards, one TD) have gotten plenty of touches lately.
When these two squads faced each other a year ago, Florida Atlantic earned the win 38-20.
NCAA Tip: Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
SU Winner – Florida Atlantic, ATS Winner – Florida Atlantic
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Notes
Team Betting Trends
The Middle Tennessee defensive unit has produced eight sacks on the year while Florida Atlantic has five.
The Middle Tennessee offense has lost three fumbles in 2018 while Florida Atlantic has lost one.
Each team has produced three pass plays of 40 or more yards and five pass plays of 30+ yards.
The Florida Atlantic defense has allowed four pass plays of 40+ yards, while Middle Tennessee has given up three such plays.
The Florida Atlantic offense has created seven rushing plays of 20+ yards, while Middle Tennessee has created four such runs.
The Owls defense has allowed six rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Blue Raiders have given up seven such runs.
Middle Tennessee was favored by 34 points in its previous game and the Over/Under was set at 59.5. The under cashed and Middle Tennessee failed to cover in that 49-7 loss to Georgia.
Over its last three games, Middle Tennessee is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
Florida Atlantic was favored by 14 points in its last game and the Over/Under was set at 74. The over cashed and Florida Atlantic did not cover in the 56-36 loss to UCF.
Florida Atlantic has averaged 6.3 yards per carry over its last two contests.
Middle Tennessee has averaged 3.5 yards per carry over its last two.
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