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College Football

Post-Mortems: Group of 5

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
19 minute read
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Power 5

Old Dominion (-1.5/47.5) at Charlotte: The 49ers have already doubled their win total after last season, sneaking off with a home win over the Monarchs in a game that was moved up to get it in before Hurricane Florence hit. Charlotte redshirt freshman QB Chris Reynolds played his sharpest game, spreading the ball around, converting on third downs and getting the ball out quickly. He’ll likely go back to a backup role when Miami transfer Evan Shireffs is back in a few games, but definitely looks to have improved, establishing connections with Workpeh Kofa and Victor Tucker, who combined for 16 catches. Johnathan Duhart’s size edge on 49ers DBs made for a great advantage but QB Stevie Williams was too erratic to fully take advantage. ODU freshman RB Lala Davis scored twice and looks like he’s secured the right to replace the school’s all-time leading rusher, Ray Lawry. Result: Old Dominion 28-25. ATS: Underdog/Over

Georgia State at Memphis (-29/63.5): Darrell Henderson posted his second straight 200-yard game and is going to mess around and get himself into the Heisman conversation. He simply boat-raced Panthers defenders once he found an opening and ran over them when he didn’t, finishing with 16.6 yards per carry. The Tigers ran for 4410 yards, 26 off the school record set back in 1972. Despite all that success on the ground, QB Brady White threw five touchdown passes, increasing his total on the season to 10. The Panthers couldn’t overcome their lack of defense or Dan Ellington’s lack of accuracy, which could open the door for Aaron Winchester to work his way back in at quarterback. GSU hosts Western Michigan before stepping into Sun Belt play, so Ellington should have one more chance to lock up the gig if he can get into a rhythm throwing it.Result: Memphis 59-22. ATS: Favorite/Over

Hawai’I at Army (-7/62.5): There was a lot of action on this game since many wanted to play the angle that the Rainbow Warriors would be out of their element playing an early game on the West coast at a time (6 a.m.) where their body clocks would typically be sleeping or just waking up. Others wanted to take advantage of the points, fading that thought process and riding behind a Cole McDonald-led passing game would thrive as it has all season, taking advantage of the Black Knights’ secondary. Hawai’I marched down the field to seemingly stomp out the angle that they would be lethargic, but over the course of the afternoon, were shut down by the Army defense. Kenneth Brinson had to huge fourth-down sacks and the offense got another big game from QB Kelvin Hopkins, who accounted for 272 yards with his arms and legs. Hawai’I could’ve and probably should’ve forced OT, coming up empty on four cracks from the 11-yard line, It was a common theme for Nick Rolovich’s team, which came up empty on six of seven third downs and was 0-for-2 going for it on fourth. They have scored touchdowns on all three of their opening drives this season.Result: Hawai’I 28-21. ATS: Push/Under

Ball State at Indiana (-15/59): Coming off a great effort at Notre Dame, the Cardinals were looking for an upset as they took the field in Bloomington and were quickly smacked down after taking a 3-0 lead. Freshman Stevie Scott, a bulky, powerful runner that is just as likely to run a defender over than run by him, keyed an attack that picked up 255 rushing yards. Riley Neal couldn’t push downfield as the offense only found the end zone once the Hoosiers took their foot off the gas after going up 31-3. J-Shun Harris changed the game on an 86-yard punt return and QB Peyton Ramsey nicely ran the offense and leads the Big Ten with a completion percentage of 73.7. kResult: Indiana 38-10. ATS: Favorite/Under




Troy at Nebraska (-9.5/55): The Huskers probably wouldn’t have lost this game if freshman QB Adrian Martinez had suited up, but walk-on Andrew Bunch doesn’t have the same kind of juice. The ‘Huskers were hoping to find a way in this one but made too many mistakes. The Scott Frost era off to the worst possible start with Nebraska sitting at 0-2 for the first time since 1957. Awful luck has played a huge role, but so did missed assignments since the offense, defense and special teams all contributed to the team’s demise. Martinez practiced Tuesday and will be a game-time decision, so the Huskers may have a chance at Michigan. The Trojans got a pair of TD run from B.J. Smith and saw QB Kaleb Barker again prove himself as a leader. While his limitations as a passer are obvious, his toughness can’t be questioned. The Trojans can work with that as they look to handle the co-favorites role in the Sun Belt alongside Appalachian State. Result: Troy 24-19. ATS: Underdog/Under

Kent State at Penn State (-35/63.5): The Nittany Lions handled business after a slow start and have now outscored opponents 71-0 in the second half after allowing App State to battle back and take a late lead by losing focus in the opener. James Franklin has his team taking no prisoners. Trace McSorley ran for three scores and passed for another two, then gave way to backup Sean Clifford, who hit a 95-yard TD pass to Daniel George for the longest play in Penn State history to help chalk-eaters breathe easier in the fourth quarter. The Illini are up next on Friday before the heavy hitters line up and we get to see whether this group can seriously compete for a title despite losing RB Saquon Barkley to the pros. The Golden Flashes’ lone touchdown came on a 47-yard pass from Woody Barrett to Mike Carrigan, again illustrating Penn State’s issues with deep balls. Result: Penn State 63-10. ATS: Favorite/Over

UTEP at Tennessee (-32/49): The defense did exactly what an SEC unit should do against an overmatched team that couldn’t score a second-half point at home vs. Northern Arizona to open the season and got blown out by 28 in Vegas. The offense didn’t, scoring only once per quarter in a yawner of a performance. Jeremy Banks fumbled at the goal line to give the Vols little chance of covering and they’ve now scored no offensive touchdowns over their first three games, which suggests they’ll need a new script for Florida. Ty Chandler broke off an 81-yard on the first drive of the third quarter and finished with 158 yards on 12 carries. Tim Jordan continued to get tough yardage, so both will have to get going against the Gators. Sophomore QB Jarrett Guarantano tied Keller Chryst for the team lead in touchdown passes and should get a long leash to try and beat Florida in Knoxville for the second straight time. That’s a huge deal when you consider they ‘ve only won one of the last 13 meetings between these traditional “rivals”. Result: Tennessee 24-0. ATS: Underdog/Under

Eastern Michigan at Buffalo (-2.5/54): The Bulls held serve at home to win their MAC opener and are perfect through three games for the first time since 1983, back when the team played in Division II. QB Tyree Jackson came through with a 325-yard, 3-touchdown day under center, connecting wih K.J. Osborn on each of the scores, which included a 75-yarder. Kevin Marks punched in a pair of scores via a rush, while the defense pitched a second-half shutout until the game’s final minute. Buffalo will take aim at a 4-0 start and its first win over a Power-5 foe since 2002 when it visits Rutgers. The Eagles have two competent QBs in Iowa transfer Tyler Wiegers, who helped engineer the upset of Purdue, and Mike Glass III, who took over in the second quarter and instantly sparked two scoring drives with TD passes of 75 and 76 yards. Look for both QBs to play as Eastern hits the road for its final game outside the MAC at San Diego State on Saturday night. Result: Buffalo 35-28. ATS: Favorite/Over

Vanderbilt at Notre Dame (-14/52): The Fighting Irish dominated early but got turned away in the red zone, an issue that they’ll have to try and solve with Stanford and Virginia Tech on tap after this weekend’s matchup with Wake Forest. As a result, Vandy had a chance to go ahead after getting to the Notre Dame 31-yard line with just over a minute remaining, failing to convert on fourth down to end it as Kyle Shurmur just missed top target Klijia Lipscomb. The ‘Dores fumbled at the goal line in the first half when Donaven Tennyson was stripped late in the second quarter and then squandered another opportunity to get six on a Tennyson drop, completely changing a game that should’ve been closer than 16-3 at the break. Although they’ve been up in each game, the Irish put up their first points of the season in the fourth quarter but have still been outscored 24-6 to make all three of their wins one-possession games despite them largely dominating defensively. There’s not a lot of confidence in the Brandon Wimbush-led passing games but his ability to extend drives with his legs and the added dimension that gives the offense should keep him entrenched under center since it’s clear Notre Dame is going to try and ride the run game and its defense as far as it will go. Result: Notre Dame 22-17. ATS: Underdog/Under

Ohio at Virginia (-4.5/54.5): Coming off a tough loss at Indiana, Bronco Mendenhall’s team bounced back by scoring five first-half touchdowns, adjusting nicely to a unique environment since they had to play this one at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Stadium in Nashville due to Hurricane Florence. Offensively, UVa is going to go as QB Bryce Perkins does, so his 379 passing yards on 25-of-30 passing made this a game they absolutely had to hold on a win. He hit Olamide Zaccheaus nine times for 277 yards and two scores, sealing the win in the fourth with a 77-yard strike to end all hopes of a Bobcats comeback. There were also touchdowns on one-play drives of 75 and 86 yards. Jordan Ellis ran for 171 yards as the Cavaliers ran up over 500 yards of offense and Virginia now has a chance to win three of its first four games for the first time since Al Groh’s teams did it three straight seasons from ’03-’05. Ohio got a strong passing game from Nathan Rourke but were stuck playing from behind and had to abandon its desired pace. The Bobcats’ lack of firepower in the first quarter could become a major issue if the trend isn’t reversed. Thus far, Frank Solich’s team has been outscored 31-10. Result: Virginia 45-31. ATS: Favorite/Over

Georgia Southern at Clemson (-32/49): The Tigers committed their first turnover of the season on a Kelly Bryant interception and then coughed it up two more times, so they were far from sharp against an Eagles defense. The main purpose behind this one was to put in work against another option offense in this tune-up for Georgia Tech, so they were successful there, surrendering nothing until early in the fourth quarter and giving up only xx yards of total offense. Travis Etienne set career-highs with 16 carries for 162 yards but Bryant left early with a chest bruise after a poor outing, so we may see more of Trevor Lawrence in the ACC opener. He fared well against a Georgia Southern pass defense that should be an asset in the Sun Belt. Result: Clemson 38-7. ATS: Underdog/Under

Miami, OH at Minnesota (-13.5/47): Despite having to move forward without senior RB Rodney Smith, who should pick up a sixth year of eligibility if he chooses to return, the Gophers stuck to their personality and grinded out a win against the visiting Redhawks to improve to 3-0 for the third straight season. Minnesota leads the Big Ten in time of possession and has been tremendous defensively, pitching a shutout for the second time in three games. Freshman QB Zack Annexstad injured an ankle after being sacked but should be able to suit up in the conference opener at Maryland. The Redhawks again struggled to get much against a ball-hawking defense that shut down everything down the field and pounced to create turnovers. Gus Ragland won’t see a better unit the rest of the way and should start to settle in after consecutive rough outings where Miami managed a combined three points. Result: Minnesota 26-3. ATS: Underdog/Under

Boise State at Oklahoma State (-1/66): The Broncos were hoping to be at full strength for the first time and were a popular bet as kickoff approached on Saturday, pushing this line to a pick’em at some spots. Top corner Tyler Horton sat, as did WR Octavius Evans. Brett Rypien threw for 380 yards and three scores but spent most of the afternoon running for his life. The Cowboys sacked him seven times and surrendered just 20 points. Boise came in averaging 59 but couldn’t establish the run to keep Oklahoma State from coming after Rypien from all angles. Taylor Cornelius only threw for one score but looked sharp, protecting the ball and making a huge impact with his legs, finishing with a game-high 16 carries and scoring twice. Between him and Justice Hill, OSU was able to control the pace and wear down the Boise defense, allowing them to run away and hide late. Result: Oklahoma State 44-21. ATS: Favorite/Under

BYU at Wisconsin (-23.5/51.5): The Badgers pulled away in their first two games but really looked a step slow. They were sloppy with the football, barely looked to make plays downfield and chose to wear teams down physically as opposed to stomping them out. That approach finally caught up to Wisconsin due to another lethargic effort punctuated by QB Alex Hornibrook’s struggles. Mix in a muffed punt, some ill-timed penalties and the typically reliable Rafael Gaglianone missing a 42-yard field goal that would’ve forced OT and you have the ingredients for a stunning upset given that Wisky won last year’s meeting in Provo 40-6. The main one was that BYU really hung in there physically up front, making an impact on both sides of the ball to edge Wisconsin at its own game inside Camp Randall. LB Sione Takitaki and RB Squally Canada balled out to produce the Cougars’ biggest win since a 2016 road upset at Michigan State.Result: BYU 24-21. ATS: Underdog/Under

North Texas at Arkansas (-5.5/63.5): The wrong team was favored here even though the Hogs have the money behind them and the SEC brand aiding recruiting. That became abundantly clear to any doubters when the Mean Green built a 17-0 first-quarter lead. At the moment, stuck in transition following Bret Bielema’s failure, Arkansas doesn’t have the ammo Chad Morris needs to be remotely competitive in his first season. Their starting corners were hurt for a matchup with UNT’s Mason Fine, one of the country’s most unheralded passers. Morris played three quarterbacks who combined to throw six picks and were under pressure most of the night. The defense struggled with poor coverage and bad tackling, which are ugly traits that will get them blown out often in league play if there’s no improvement. North Texas beat Arkansas so badly that it got going on running out the clock early, resulting in a three-point third quarter that put ‘over’ bettors in a foul mood. Result: North Texas 44-17. ATS: Underdog/Under

Colorado State at Florida (-21.5/59.5): The Gators made sure that the Rams got no illusions of pulling off a second straight SEC conquest in the second quarter here and really won this by a wide margin because they returned a punt for a score and took one back via return to put a bow on the game in the fourth. Florida QB Feleipe Franks started hot but ended up just 8-for-15, so the verdict remains out on whether he can give the team the consistency it needs to battle back from the Kentucky loss. The Rams got $2 million for making the trip to Gainesville and actually won the third quarter 7-0 before they ran out of gas. Despite facing legitimate pressure, QB K.J. Carta-Samuels protected the ball well to keep this from being more lopsided. Result: Florida 48-10. ATS: Underdog/Under

UT-San Antonio at Kansas State (-21/46.5): The Wildcats were counting on Skylar Thompson responding well to being handed the keys to the offense after a lengthy battle with Alex Delton and got their wish since his production really opened things up. Isaiah Zuber caught touchdown passes from both, including the game-clincher just before the opening half after the defense recovered a fumble. UTSA scored the game’s final 10 points and nearly covered the number on its last possession since the Wildcats took their foot off the gas. Playing without safety Denzel Goolsby for the first of what should be a few games helped Eli Walker and some of the other backups gain experience. Result: K-State 41-17. ATS: Favorite/Over

Houston at Texas Tech (-1/69): Winning this kept hope alive for the Red Raiders, who viewed this as a must-win and can now realistically still aspire to reach a bowl. Tech got a surprisingly prolific day out of Alan Bowman, who set a Big 12 freshman record with 605 yards, throwing six touchdown passes. Antoine Wesley ended up with 13 catches, 261 yards and half of those touchdowns in a contest that played out like a video game since Houston QB De’Eriq King responded with five touchdown passes on 30 completions of his own. The ‘over’ was in before halftime as the teams traded punches with Bowman unexpectedly rising to the occasion in place of injured sophomore McLane Carter. He’s now thrown for eight TDs without being picked off entering his first road start at Oklahoma State. Result: Texas Tech 63-49. ATS: Favorite/Over

Miami, FL (-12/58.5) at Toledo: Considering how listless they looked against LSU and how little could be gauged from the trouncing of Savannah State, this was an important showing from the Hurricanes. They went into a good team’s house and imposed their will. Going in, we knew Miami had better athletes but had to question the offensive line, quarterback and a defense that couldn’t get off the field when they needed to in Arlington. Malik Rosier ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more to answer critics who feel it’s time for head coach Mark Richt to go in another direction. WR Jeff Thomas has continued to be the Canes’ most productive receiver and came through with 171 all-purpose yards. The UM defense missed star safety Jaquan Johnson after he injured a hamstring and can only hope that doesn’t become a lingering issue given how thin they look. The Rockets disappointed on defense and struggled to get any sort of ground attack going. Diontae Johnson did find the end zone twice, utilizing a nifty spin move to run away from everyone and pull the Rockets within 28-21, but Toledo never threatened after that. Result: Miami 49-24. ATS: Favorite/Over

Akron at Northwestern (-21/47): The Wildcats held a 21-3 at the break, so one can irresponsibly infer that they called it quits early. The bigger issue is that they didn’t. Senior QB Clayton Thorson, no longer splitting snaps and presumably healthy, through a pair of pick-sixes, including 97-yarder for the 14-point swing necessary for the Zips to pull off this time of comeback. Alvin Davis did the honors both times and brought another interception back 50 yards, one of three defensive scores that helped produce one of the more demoralizing losses any team has suffered this season. The lone saving grace is that Northwestern is actually perfect in league play entering its Nov. 29 meeting with Michigan, having already defeated Purdue. Result: Akron 39-34. ATS: Underdog/Over



Follow Tony Mejia on Twitter at @TonyMejiaNBA or e-mail him at mejia@vegasinsider.com 4

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