The Southern Miss Golden Eagles (+9) are set to face off against their conference counterpart North Texas Mean Green (-9) at Apogee Stadium. Interested parties can catch the action live on ESPN 3 and this vital daytime game is scheduled to kick off at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles at North Texas Mean Green Betting Preview
The Golden Eagles head into this Saturday CUSA game as a big dog here and they’re currently getting 9 points. The Golden Eagles are also receiving +270 moneyline odds while the Mean Green are -350. It appears that there will probably be some solid in-game betting opportunities for this matchup.
The Golden Eagles have lost 1.4 units so far and are 3-1 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an Over-Under record of 1-2. The Mean Green have gained 0.5 units this season. The team is 3-3 ATS and has an O/U record of 0-6.
The Golden Eagles have gone 2-2 straight up (SU), including 1-0 SU against conference opponents. The Mean Green are 5-1 SU overall and 1-1 SU in conference play.
The Golden Eagles look to get back on track after a 24-13 loss to Auburn on September 29. The passing attack could’ve been sharper as Jack Abraham completed 30 passes for 215 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Jaylond Adams (eight receptions, 47 yards) and Trivenskey Mosley (six catches, three yards) shared the receiving duties.
North Texas is coming off of a 27-24 win over UTEP. The team’s defensive unit allowed the Miners to pass for 313 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 104 yards. Warren Redix was a bright spot in the loss, recording 131 yards on seven catches for UTEP. For North Texas, Mason Fine completed 23-of-34 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns. DeAndre Torrey (70 yards on 19 rush attempts) and Nic Smith (64 yards on 13 carries, one TD) mounted the ground game in the win as Rico Bussey, Jr. (eight receptions, 117 yards, one TD) and Jaelon Darden (five catches, 91 yards, one TD) led the receiving corps.
Southern Miss has run the ball on 45.5 percent of its offensive possessions this year while North Texas has an overall rush percentage of 49.1 percent. The Golden Eagles have run for 111 yards per game and have two touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Mean Green are totaling 155 rush yards per game (133 in conference) and have 12 total rushing TDs.
If the numbers so far this season are any indication, then it’s looking like the Mean Green may have an advantage when it comes to RB efficiency, as their backfield has produced 4.0 yards per carry while their defense has allowed a YPC of 3.4 to opponents. The Golden Eagles have tallied 3.4 yards per carry while allowing a YPC of 4.2 to opponents.
The Golden Eagles offense has tallied 319 yards/contest through the air overall and has 11 passing scores so far. The Mean Green have recorded 329 pass yards per contest (295.0 in the CUSA) and have 15 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Southern Miss seems to have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has let opponents rush for an average of 123 yards and pass for 166 yards per game. The North Texas defense has given up 229.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 104.8 yards per game to opposing runners. The Mean Green are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 3.72 to opponents, while the Golden Eagles have given up a 4.25 ANY/A.
Offensively, Abraham has amassed 835 passing yards this year. The signal-caller has completed 82-of-117 attempts with seven passing scores and four interceptions. Abraham has a 5.86 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 7.22 over the last two games.
Look for Abraham to attack all areas of the North Texas secondary. De’Michael Harris (94 receiving yards), Quez Watkins (267 yards, five TDs) and Tim Jones (94 yards) have all been heavily involved recently.
Mason Fine has managed to complete 128-of-196 passes for 1,622 yards, 12 TDs and one INT for North Texas. His ANY/A sits at 8.91 for the year and 8.73 across his past two games.
We expect the Mean Green to control the pace by feeding the running backs early and often. In addition to Rico Bussey, Jr. (420 receiving yards, six receiving TDs), Loren Easly (386 rush yards, four rush TDs, 58 receiving yards) and Nic Smith (179 rush yards, two rush TDs, 15 receiving yards, one TD) have really been focal points in the North Texas offense.
These two squads faced off last year with the final result being a 43-28 victory for North Texas.
RELATED: Week 7 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
Free Prediction: Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. North Texas Mean Green
SU Winner – North Texas, ATS Winner – North Texas
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Notes
Betting Notes
The North Texas defense has sacked opposing QBs 18 times this year. Southern Miss has produced just five sacks.
North Texas has lost three fumbles this season while the Southern Miss offense has lost four.
Both teams have produced four pass plays of 40 or more yards. The Golden Eagles have have made five pass plays of 30+ yards while the Mean Green have created 17 such plays.
The Southern Miss defense has allowed three pass plays of 40+ yards, while North Texas has given up five such plays.
The Southern Miss offense has created two rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while North Texas has created 10 such runs.
The Golden Eagles defense has allowed three rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Mean Green have given up seven such runs.
North Texas was the underdog by 25 points in its previous outing and the O/U going into it was 54. The under cashed and North Texas covered in the 27-24 victory over UTEP.
Over its last three games, North Texas is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in each of those three.
In its last three games, Southern Miss is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
Southern Miss was favored by 28 points in its last game and the O/U was 50.5. The under cashed and Southern Miss was not able to cover in the 24-13 defeat to Auburn.
As a team, Southern Miss has averaged 2.80232558139535 yards per rush attempt over its past three outings and 3.5 over its last two.
North Texas has averaged 5.1 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 3.7 over its past two.
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