The No. 25 TCU Horned Frogs and Iowa State Cyclones are ready to do battle on the grass at Jack Trice Stadium. This vital daytime matchup kicks off at 12:00 p.m. ET and ESPN2 is in line to televise the action.
Betting Preview: Iowa State Cyclones vs. TCU Horned Frogs
In this Saturday Big 12 game, Iowa State has been projected as the favorite and is currently giving up 4 points. The Horned Frogs are also receiving +165 moneyline odds while the Cyclones are -185. There will likely be multiple solid live betting scenarios for this game, and Vegas has determined the over/under (O/U) to be 45.5 points.
The line originally opened at -3 and the total was initially pegged at 48, so it appears that sharp bettors tend to be siding with both the Cyclones and the under.
The Horned Frogs are 2-2 against the spread (ATS) and have lost 1.3 units so far. The team’s posted an O/U record of 2-2.
The Cyclones are down 1.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 2-2 ATS and also have an even O/U record of 2-2.
The Horned Frogs have gone 3-1 straight up (SU), including 1-0 SU against conference opponents. The Cyclones are 2-2 SU overall and are also 0-1 SU in conference play.
The Horned Frogs are coming off a resounding 51-14 victory over Kansas last week. the Horned Frogs completed 19-of-27 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Alex Delton went 10-for-15 for 186 yards while Max Duggan completed eight-of-11 for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Darius Anderson (115 yards on 18 rush attempts, one TD) and Darwin Barlow (51 yards on 13 carries) led the running attack while Dylan Thomas (three receptions, 44 yards, one TD) and Blair Conwright (three catches, 25 yards) handled the receiving duties in the win.
Iowa State narrowly fell 23-21 to Baylor. The defensive unit let the Bears pass for 307 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 104 yards. Tyquan Thornton had a solid showing in the win for Baylor, accounting for 141 yards and a score on 11 catches. For Iowa State, Brock Purdy completed 27-of-45 passes for 342 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Purdy (3 rushing yards on 13 attempts) handled the running game as Deshaunte Jones (seven receptions, 77 yards) and Charlie Kolar (five catches, 72 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching corps in the loss.
TCU has run the ball on 59.9 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Iowa State has a rush percentage of 46.1 percent. The Horned Frogs have rushed for 275.3 yards/game and have 11 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Cyclones are putting up 152.3 rushing yards per game and have six total rush TDs.
It seems like the Horned Frogs might have the edge in terms of RB effectiveness. Their running backs has generated 5.6 yards per carry while the defense is allowing a YPC of 2.5 to opponents. The Cyclones have rushed for 4.7 yards per carry and allowed 3.2 YPC to opponents.
The Horned Frogs offensive scheme has logged 213.3 yards/game in the air overall and has seven passing TDs so far. The Cyclones have recorded an astonishing 347.8 pass yards per contest and have 10 total pass scores.
Defensively, TCU appears to have the upper hand in both phases. The team has let opponents rush for an average of 79.3 yards and pass for 166.8 yards per game. The Iowa State defense has allowed 237.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 115.0 yards per game to opposing runners. The Horned Frogs are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.77 to opponents, while the Cyclones have allowed a 5.29 ANY/A.
Purdy has connected on 81-of-120 passes for 896 yards, five TDs and one INT for Iowa State. His adjusted net yards per pass attempt stands at 7.26 for the season and 10.16 across his past two outings. In the other huddle, Max Duggan has put up 335 passing yards this season, and has connected on 31-of-52 attempts with four passing touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception. Duggan has a 7.13 ANY/A, including 7.22 over the last two games.
When these two teams met last year, TCU knocked Iowa State off by a field goal 17-14.
TCU Horned Frogs vs. Iowa State Cyclones NCAA Tip
SU Winner: Iowa State, ATS Winner: Iowa State, O/U: Over
Team Betting Trends
- The Iowa State defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 11 times this season. TCU has recorded eight sacks.
- Both offenses have lost five fumbles this year.
- The Horned Frogs offense has tallied two pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Cyclones have accounted for five such plays.
- The TCU defense has allowed three pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Iowa State has given up one such play.
- The TCU offense has created 12 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Iowa State has created two such runs.
- The Horned Frogs defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Cyclones have given up four such runs.
- The O/U for Iowa State’s previous match was set at 55.5. The under cashed in the team’s 23-21 loss to Baylor.
- In its last three contests, Iowa State is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- Over its last three contests, TCU is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- The Over/Under for TCU’s previous game was set at 48. The over cashed in the team’s 51-14 win over Kansas.
- TCU has produced 5.6 yards per carry over its last three games and 5.4 over its last two.
- Iowa State has averaged 5.0 yards per carry over its last three contests and 5.1 over its last two.
