The North Texas Mean Green (+25.5) aren’t traveling far to face their in-conference nemesis UTEP Miners at Sun Bowl. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and interested parties can tune in to the action on beIN Sports.
North Texas Mean Green vs. UTEP Miners Betting Preview
North Texas is the heavy road favorite and is currently giving up 25.5 points to UTEP. If the Miners get ahead early it would create a nice live betting scenario. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 54.5 points.
The game’s O/U has been driven higher after opening at 54. The original line has remained consistent.
The Mean Green have gained 0.5 units so far in 2018 and are 3-2 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 0-5. The Miners have lost 3.0 units this season. The team is 2-3 ATS and owns an even O/U record of 2-2.
The Mean Green have gone 4-1 straight up (SU), including 0-1 SU against conference opponents. The Miners are 0-5 SU overall and are also 0-1 SU in conference play.
The Mean Green hope to bounce back after a narrow 29-27 defeat to Louisiana Tech last weekTheir defense allowed the Bulldogs to eat up the clock by rushing for 129 yards on 32 attempts. Rhashid Bonnette logged a productive day for the Bulldogs in that one with 101 yards on five catches. Offensively, Mason Fine completed 22 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns. Loren Easly (110 rushing yards on 22 attempts, one TD) and the signal-caller Fine (-24 yards on 10 carries) led the ground attack. Rico Bussey, Jr. (nine receptions, 112 yards, two TDs) and Jalen Guyton (five catches, 51 yards) shared the receiving duties in the defeat.
One game ago, UTSA got the win against this UTEP crew by a score of 30-21. The Miners let the Roadrunners pass for 187 yards and rush for 91 more. Greg Campbell Jr. put up a solid showing in the win for UTSA, recording 61 yards on four catches. For UTEP, Kai Locksley completed 10-of-16 passes for 117 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Locksley (106 yards on 24 rush attempts, one TD) and Quardraiz Wadley (10 yards on 10 carries, one TD) mounted the running game while Alan Busey (two receptions, 20 yards) and Terry Juniel (two catches, 35 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the loss.
North Texas has run the ball on 48.8 percent of its offensive possessions this year while UTEP has a rush percentage of 63.9 percent. The Mean Green have produced 159 rush yards per game and have 11 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Miners are putting up 170 rushing yards per game and have seven total rush TDs.
It appears that the Mean Green could have the edge when it comes to quarterback protection, as their offensive line has yielded just 39 sacks while their D-line registered 23 sacks. The Miners, on the other hand, have given up 25 sacks and their defense has recorded only 11 sacks.
The Mean Green offensive scheme has averaged a ridiculous 335 yards in the air overall and has 13 passing TDs so far. The Miners have put up 125 pass yards per outing and have two total pass scores.
North Texas has let opponents rush for an average of 105 yards and pass for 213 yards per game. The UTEP defense has allowed 168.0 yards per game to opposing passers and 222.4 yards per game to opposing runners. The Mean Green are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 3.10 to opponents, while the Miners have allowed a 7.62 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Fine has already amassed 1,439 yards this season, and has completed 65 percent of his 170 attempts with 11 scores through the air and only one interception. Fine has an 8.67 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 7.79 over the last two outings.
Kai Locksley has completed 38-of-83 passes for 333 yards, one TD and two INTs for UTEP. His ANY/A stands at a minuscule 2.61 for the season and 4.74 over his past two outings.
When these two squads met last year, North Texas won by five touchdowns 45-10.
RELATED: Week 6 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
NCAA Tip: North Texas Mean Green vs. UTEP Miners
SU Winner – UTEP, ATS Winner – UTEP, O/U – Over
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Notes
Team Betting Trends
The Mean Green offense has recorded three pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Miners have put up two such plays.
The North Texas defense has allowed three pass plays of 40 or more yards, while UTEP has given up four such plays.
Both teams have produced seven rushing plays of 20 or more yards. The North Texas offense has recorded 26 running plays of 10+ yards while UTEP has accounted for 31 such plays.
The Mean Green defense has allowed four rushing plays of 20+ yards, while the Miners have given up 12 such runs.
The North Texas defensive unit has sacked opposing quarterbacks 16 times this year. UTEP has registered just nine sacks.
As a team, North Texas has rushed for 5.06194690265487 yards per attempt across its last three contests and 5.7 over its last two.
UTEP has averaged 3.6 yards per carry over its last three games and 3.6 over its last two.
Over its last three contests, UTEP is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
North Texas was favored by 8 points in its last game and the Over/Under was 62. The under cashed and North Texas did not cover in the 29-27 loss to Louisiana Tech.
Over its last three games, North Texas is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in each of those three.
UTEP was favored by 11 points in its last game and the O/U was set at 47. The over cashed and UTEP failed to cover in the 30-21 defeat to UTSA.
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