The Missouri Tigers host the Bringham Young Cougars at Arrowhead Stadium this week. It’s been a rough season for Missouri (4-5), and after losing four of its last five, things haven’t gotten any better. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov 14 and will be available on SECN.
In last week’s game, Missouri lost to Mississippi State 31-13. Tyler Hunt had a solid outing on the ground in the loss, rushing six times for 85 yards. Ish Witter added 81 rushing yards on 12 attempts. BYU is hoping for another victory like last week’s performance, when it won a close one against San Jose State 17-16. Devon Blackmon had a big game for the Cougars, recording six catches for 102 yards. Tanner Mangum also had a big day, contributing 293 yards and a TD through the air.
BYU is a slender three-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable.
Heading into Week 11 of the college football season, the Tigers are 4-5 Straight Up (SU) and 2-7 Against The Spread (ATS). In the past five games, Missouri is 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS. BYU’s offense will need to use all of its options against the 22nd-ranked Tigers run defense, which gives up 121.2 rushing yards per game. One of the keys to the game will be whether the Cougars can protect the quarterback against Missouri’s aggressive pass rush. The defense ranks 15th in the nation in sacks with 2.9 per game. Missouri, one of the least penalized teams in Division I (12th), hopes to continue that trend this week. The team has averaged just 39 penalty yards per game this season.
On the other side, the Cougars have a record of 6-3 ATS and 7-2 SU. Over their last five games, the Cougars have a SU record of 5-0 and a 3-2 record ATS for those betting with them. The Cougars have averaged 40 PPG over the last five games, above their 32.3 PPG season average. Hopefully Missouri’s defense is better than its timing. It will be matching up against a Cougars offense that is on fire lately, averaging 513.2 total yards over their last five games. Shifting to the other side of the ball, the BYU defense can dominate if it takes advantage of some favorable matchups. Stopping the run doesn’t have to be BYU’s first priority. Missouri ranks 119th in the nation with an average of 113.2 rushing yards per game. When BYU’s defensive front gets going, it is basically unstoppable. This year, the Cougars average 3.3 sacks per game, good enough for sixth in the country.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bringham Young, ATS Winner – Bringham Young
Notes
Missouri is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games.
Missouri is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Missouri’s last 9 games.
BYU is 3-1 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Missouri is 4-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
The Missouri rushing attack is ranked only 119th in the nation, while the BYU run defense is ranked 34th. The Cougars run game is ranked just 97th, compared to the 22nd-ranked rush defense of the Tigers.
