The Houston Cougars (-13) are heading northeast to face the Navy Midshipmen at Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Kickoff for this conference game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and CBS Sports Network is in line to broadcast the action. When the two schools faced each other last year, Houston got the victory 24-14.
Betting Preview: Navy Midshipmen vs. Houston Cougars
In this Saturday American Athletic Conference matchup, Houston is projected as the big favorite and is currently giving up 13 points. The Cougars are also receiving -550 moneyline odds while the Midshipmen are +375. If one program finds paydirt early on it will result in a nice live betting opportunity. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 61.5 points.
The O/U has not moved after being set initially at 61.5. Having said that, the line opened at 10 and square bettors have been siding with the Cougars.
The Cougars have gained 2.0 units so far in 2018 and are 3-3 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an Over-Under record of 3-3.
The Midshipmen have been a disappointment to moneyline bettors this season, losing 8.9 units. They’re 1-5 ATS and have an O/U record of 2-3.
The Cougars have gone 5-1 straight up (SU), including 2-0 SU against AAC opponents. The Midshipmen are 2-4 SU overall and 1-2 SU in conference play.
Navy enters this contest on a zero-game winning streak while Houston has lost zero straight. The Cougars are coming off a resounding 42-20 win over East Carolina last week. D’Eriq King completed just 13-of-23 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Marquez Stevenson (three receptions, 40 yards) and Bryson Smith (three catches, 26 yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
Navy just dropped a 24-17 game to Temple. The defensive unit let the Owls pass for 300 yards while rushing for 109 yards and two scores. Ventell Bryant had a productive outing in the win, posting 147 yards on eight catches for Temple. For Navy, Garret Lewis completed three-of-11 passes for 14 yards. Malcolm Perry (48 yards on 12 rush attempts) and the signal-caller Lewis (56 yards on 12 carries, one TD) handled the running attack as Tazh Maloy (two receptions, 0 yards) and Taylor Jackson (one catch, 14 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the loss.
Houston’s run the ball on 52.2 percent of its offensive plays this year, including 60.4 percent across possessions in conference play. Navy has a run percentage of 85.6 percent, and has rushed the ball 90.7 percent of the time when facing AAC opponents. The Cougars have produced 246.8 rush yards per game (including 234.5 per game against American Athletic Conference opponents) and have 16 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Midshipmen are totaling 303.7 rush yards per game (294.3 in conference) and have 20 total rushing TDs.
It appears that the Cougars may hold an advantage in all aspects of the ground game, as their running backs has logged 6.1 yards per carry while the defense is allowing 2.8 YPC to opponents. The Midshipmen have rushed for 5.1 yards per carry and given up 5.0 YPC to opponents.
The Cougars offense has logged 306.0 yards per game through the air overall (207.0 per game against conference opposition) and has 23 passing TDs so far. The Midshipmen have recorded 61.7 pass yards per game (30 in the AAC) and have two total pass scores.
Defensively, Houston has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 116.0 yards and throw for 359.5 yards per game. The Navy D has given up 227.2 yards per game to opposing passers and 167.5 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to opponents, as the Cougars have given up an ANY/A of 6.62 to opposing QBs, while the Midshipmen are allowing an ANY/A of 7.04.
Offensively, King is up to 1,406 passing yards this year, and has connected on 97-of-157 attempts with 17 passing scores and only one interception. King has a 10.45 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 6.92 over the past two games.
Malcolm Perry has connected on 5-of-16 passes for 106 yards, one TD and one INT for Navy. His ANY/A sits at for the year and 6.00 over his past two games.
Houston Cougars at Navy Midshipmen NCAA Pick
SU Winner: Houston, ATS Winner: Houston, O/U: Over
Betting Notes
- The Over/Under for Houston’s previous game was set at 69. The under cashed in the team’s 42-20 victory over East Carolina.
- Houston, as a team, has produced 6.0 yards per carry over its past three games and 5.6 over its last two.
- Navy has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over its last three outings and only 4.2 over its past two.
- The Navy offense has lost six fumbles this season while Houston has lost three.
- Over its last three matches, Houston is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- The Over/Under for Navy’s previous game was set at 49. The under cashed in the 24-17 defeat to Temple.
- In its last three matchups, Navy is 0-3 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- The Cougars offense has recorded eight pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Midshipmen have accounted for one such play.
- The Houston defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Navy has given up five such plays.
- The Houston offense has created 15 rushing plays of 20+ yards, while Navy has created 14 such runs.
- The Cougars defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Midshipmen have given up 10 such runs.
- The Houston defense has 12 sacks on the year while Navy has seven.
