jimmythegreek
The opening odds start here
(21)South Florida -34 over Connecticut:
The 21st ranked Bulls (6-0 2-0) nearly saw their unbeaten season come to an end last week before rallying to edge Tulsa 25-24. Coby Weiss split the uprights on a 22 yard field goal with :02 remaining completing a 7 play 52 yard drive in just over a minute and erasing a 14 point 4th quarter deficit. USF outgained Tulsa 487-299 while picking up 26 first downs and 2 Blake Barnett (9-24 2.7 2 TD) 4th quarter rushing TD’s . That made up for an otherwise rough evening throwing the ball for Barnett (17/39 237 1 INT). Jordan Kronkite (25-151 6.0 1 TD) ran for a 66 yard score that tied the game early in the second half at 10 apiece. Mitchell Wilcox (5-95) and Tyre McCants (8-91) both had good games but were kept out of the end zone after the Bulls failed to convert several 4th down drives. Shamari Brooks (28-100 3.6 2 TD) helped the Golden Hurricanes regain the lead thanks to back to back 10 yard scoring runs. Seth Boomer (6/21 79 1 TD) got Tulsa on the board first by connecting with Jarion Anderson (3-38 1 TD) from 14 yards out. However Tulsa could not hold the lead falling to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the AAC. The Bulls return home to face Connecticut (1-5 0-3) who 2 weeks ago were obliterated at Memphis 55-14, their 3rd straight loss. Darrell Henderson (14-174 12.4 3 TD) and Patrick Taylor Jr (11-161 14.6 3 TD) each ran for 3 scores leading a rushing attack that gained 378 yards. Brady White (16/18 239 1 TD) was near flawless under center, and Connor Adair even threw a 17 yard TD pass in mop-up duty as the Tigers outgained the Huskies 634-337. David Pindell (22/37 190 1 TD 2 INT) was rusty and ineffective mostly converting on short drops as Connecticut managed just 112 rushing yards and turned the ball over 5 times.
Averaging 35 points per contest heading into Saturday’s action, Barnett (114/188 1550 9 TD 5 INT) is off to a solid first half of the campaign, though the Bulls haven’t nearly utilized the passing game than the running game. Their receiving core is especially stacked led by Tyre McCants (34-391 2 TD) and Randall St Felix (22-361 1 TD) who was well-covered and limited to just one catch against the Golden Hurricane. Darnell Salomon (16-329 4 TD) is the team’s leader in receiving TD’s and is the primary target down the field when it comes to the deep ball for Barnett. Not to be outdone is their top 25 ground game averaging 220 rushing yards per contest, led by Jordan Cronkrite (94-757 8.1 6 TD) who is one of the most dependable in the nation. Barnett calls his own number by surprise and has also found the end zone with his feet 6 times. UConn is one of the 5 worst defenses in the country yielding 53 points and 668 yards per contest, giving up no less than 49 in any game. This squad looks lost trying to defend the opposition both against the run and the pass. Randy Edsall was beside himself, even in their only win earlier this year against URI, and are especially depleted due to injuries to Marshe Terry and Eli Thomas, leaving a great deal of reliability on 5th year senior DB James Atkins.
Connecticut in terms of yards per contest is no slouch as they go for about 390 on average, but because their defense is so poor the offense they do generate comes at times when the game is long decided. The Huskies average a shade under 20 points per contest, and game totals always appear high due to the fact that much of their encounters are mismatched on the defensive side of the ball. Pindell (106/173 1122 9 TD 5 INT) has relatively efficient numbers like Barnett with the exception of a lower per completion average. The Huskies do have a balanced core four receiving cast led by Aaron McLean (20-263 2 TD) and Kyle Buss (18-253 1 TD), while Hergy Mayala (23-194 2 TD) and Zavier Scott (21-167 1 TD) are more called upon underneath or over the middle as opposed to the former aformentioned playmakers. Their run game is fairly respectable as well, especially when Pindell (87-489 5.6 5 TD) runs the option or pitches to their lone backfield workhorse Kevin Mensah (102-429 4.2 2 TD) who was held to just 21 yards rushing against the Tigers. The Bulls defense can be vulnerable at times giving up about 25 points per contest and 400 yards of total offense, most notably weaker against the run. Allowing 220 rushing yards against Tulsa was especially unacceptable, an area USF can and should improve on. Charlie Strong and his gang are happy to be back home after 3 of their last 4 on the road, and despite remaining unbeaten there is plenty of room for redemption and improvement after 2 dismal performances despite winning against Massachusetts and Tulsa surrendering an average of 33 ppg. Khalid McGee did have a sack and 10 tackles in the win over the Golden Hurricanes and overall the Bulls recorded 4 sacks overall. Mekhi Lapointe recorded 9 tackles, 2 for losses and a sack as well.
Nearly 5 TD’s is certainly a lot of real estate to lay. However, I come into week 8 off a convincing sweep last Saturday as well as a 2-0 record betting against the Huskies this season, once in the opener with Central Florida and secondly a couple of weeks back with Syracuse. Barnett could be sitting on a big game given Connecticut is so vulnerable against the run and pass, while Cronkrite is likely to gain plenty of yards in bunches which will dictate the tempo of this contest. UConn will play from behind, and with a NYE 6 bowl spot on the line as well as a perfect record, I just can’t see the Huskies staying close in this one.
I’ll have a second Saturday play coming up shortly.
The 21st ranked Bulls (6-0 2-0) nearly saw their unbeaten season come to an end last week before rallying to edge Tulsa 25-24. Coby Weiss split the uprights on a 22 yard field goal with :02 remaining completing a 7 play 52 yard drive in just over a minute and erasing a 14 point 4th quarter deficit. USF outgained Tulsa 487-299 while picking up 26 first downs and 2 Blake Barnett (9-24 2.7 2 TD) 4th quarter rushing TD’s . That made up for an otherwise rough evening throwing the ball for Barnett (17/39 237 1 INT). Jordan Kronkite (25-151 6.0 1 TD) ran for a 66 yard score that tied the game early in the second half at 10 apiece. Mitchell Wilcox (5-95) and Tyre McCants (8-91) both had good games but were kept out of the end zone after the Bulls failed to convert several 4th down drives. Shamari Brooks (28-100 3.6 2 TD) helped the Golden Hurricanes regain the lead thanks to back to back 10 yard scoring runs. Seth Boomer (6/21 79 1 TD) got Tulsa on the board first by connecting with Jarion Anderson (3-38 1 TD) from 14 yards out. However Tulsa could not hold the lead falling to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the AAC. The Bulls return home to face Connecticut (1-5 0-3) who 2 weeks ago were obliterated at Memphis 55-14, their 3rd straight loss. Darrell Henderson (14-174 12.4 3 TD) and Patrick Taylor Jr (11-161 14.6 3 TD) each ran for 3 scores leading a rushing attack that gained 378 yards. Brady White (16/18 239 1 TD) was near flawless under center, and Connor Adair even threw a 17 yard TD pass in mop-up duty as the Tigers outgained the Huskies 634-337. David Pindell (22/37 190 1 TD 2 INT) was rusty and ineffective mostly converting on short drops as Connecticut managed just 112 rushing yards and turned the ball over 5 times.
Averaging 35 points per contest heading into Saturday’s action, Barnett (114/188 1550 9 TD 5 INT) is off to a solid first half of the campaign, though the Bulls haven’t nearly utilized the passing game than the running game. Their receiving core is especially stacked led by Tyre McCants (34-391 2 TD) and Randall St Felix (22-361 1 TD) who was well-covered and limited to just one catch against the Golden Hurricane. Darnell Salomon (16-329 4 TD) is the team’s leader in receiving TD’s and is the primary target down the field when it comes to the deep ball for Barnett. Not to be outdone is their top 25 ground game averaging 220 rushing yards per contest, led by Jordan Cronkrite (94-757 8.1 6 TD) who is one of the most dependable in the nation. Barnett calls his own number by surprise and has also found the end zone with his feet 6 times. UConn is one of the 5 worst defenses in the country yielding 53 points and 668 yards per contest, giving up no less than 49 in any game. This squad looks lost trying to defend the opposition both against the run and the pass. Randy Edsall was beside himself, even in their only win earlier this year against URI, and are especially depleted due to injuries to Marshe Terry and Eli Thomas, leaving a great deal of reliability on 5th year senior DB James Atkins.
Connecticut in terms of yards per contest is no slouch as they go for about 390 on average, but because their defense is so poor the offense they do generate comes at times when the game is long decided. The Huskies average a shade under 20 points per contest, and game totals always appear high due to the fact that much of their encounters are mismatched on the defensive side of the ball. Pindell (106/173 1122 9 TD 5 INT) has relatively efficient numbers like Barnett with the exception of a lower per completion average. The Huskies do have a balanced core four receiving cast led by Aaron McLean (20-263 2 TD) and Kyle Buss (18-253 1 TD), while Hergy Mayala (23-194 2 TD) and Zavier Scott (21-167 1 TD) are more called upon underneath or over the middle as opposed to the former aformentioned playmakers. Their run game is fairly respectable as well, especially when Pindell (87-489 5.6 5 TD) runs the option or pitches to their lone backfield workhorse Kevin Mensah (102-429 4.2 2 TD) who was held to just 21 yards rushing against the Tigers. The Bulls defense can be vulnerable at times giving up about 25 points per contest and 400 yards of total offense, most notably weaker against the run. Allowing 220 rushing yards against Tulsa was especially unacceptable, an area USF can and should improve on. Charlie Strong and his gang are happy to be back home after 3 of their last 4 on the road, and despite remaining unbeaten there is plenty of room for redemption and improvement after 2 dismal performances despite winning against Massachusetts and Tulsa surrendering an average of 33 ppg. Khalid McGee did have a sack and 10 tackles in the win over the Golden Hurricanes and overall the Bulls recorded 4 sacks overall. Mekhi Lapointe recorded 9 tackles, 2 for losses and a sack as well.
Nearly 5 TD’s is certainly a lot of real estate to lay. However, I come into week 8 off a convincing sweep last Saturday as well as a 2-0 record betting against the Huskies this season, once in the opener with Central Florida and secondly a couple of weeks back with Syracuse. Barnett could be sitting on a big game given Connecticut is so vulnerable against the run and pass, while Cronkrite is likely to gain plenty of yards in bunches which will dictate the tempo of this contest. UConn will play from behind, and with a NYE 6 bowl spot on the line as well as a perfect record, I just can’t see the Huskies staying close in this one.
I’ll have a second Saturday play coming up shortly.
