Two schools that like running the football, Roadrunners of UTSA (+17.5) are set to welcome their in-conference foe Southern Miss Golden Eagles (-17.5) to the Alamodome. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN+ and the opening kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Southern Miss Golden Eagles at UTSA Roadrunners
In this Saturday Conference USA game, Southern Miss is labeled as the heavy favorite and is currently giving up 17.5 points. The Golden Eagles are also receiving -1450 moneyline odds while the Roadrunners are +800. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 52 points. If the favorites fall behind early, it’ll likely create a reasonable in-game betting opportunity.
The opening line was 17 while the total hasn’t changed after it was initially set at 52.
Both of these teams have been profitable this season as the Golden Eagles have gained 1.8 units while the Roadrunners are ahead 2.1 units.
The Golden Eagles have gone 6-3 straight up (SU), including 4-1 SU against conference opponents. The Roadrunners are 4-5 SU overall and 3-2 SU in conference play.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a resounding 37-2 win over UAB last week. Jack Abraham completed 17 passes on 22 attempts for just 164 yards and two touchdowns. Steven Anderson (41 rushing yards on 13 attempts, one TD) led the ground attack. Tim Jones (six receptions, 67 yards, one TD) and Jaylond Adams (five catches, 11 yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
UTSA just earned a 24-23 win over Old Dominion. Lowell Narcisse completed 18-of-23 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown. Sincere McCormick (137 yards on 23 rush attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Narcisse (29 yards on 12 carries) mounted the running attack as Zakhari Franklin (six receptions, 134 yards) and Brenden Brady (three catches, 42 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the win.
Southern Miss has run the ball on 52.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while UTSA has a rush percentage of 57.9 percent. The Golden Eagles have produced 123.1 rush yards/game (including 147.6 per game versus Conference USA opponents) and have 11 scores on the ground this year. The Roadrunners are logging 170.3 rush yards per game (188.2 in conference) and have 14 total rushing TDs.
It seems like the Golden Eagles may have the more disruptive lines up front, since their offensive line has given up only 33 sacks while their D-line registered 23 sacks. The Roadrunners offensive line has allowed 36 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing QBs just 23 times.
The Golden Eagles offense has logged 298.3 yards per game in the air overall (294 per game against conference opposition) and has 16 passing scores so far. The Roadrunners have recorded 152.8 pass yards per contest (144 in the CUSA) and have seven total pass TDs.
Southern Miss has allowed opponents to run for an average of 106.9 yards and throw for 238.3 yards per game. The UTSA defense has allowed 201.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 202.0 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to the opposition, as the Golden Eagles have given up an ANY/A of 6.77 to opposing QBs, while the Roadrunners are yielding an ANY/A of 7.26.
Narcisse has completed 69-of-128 passes for 725 yards, four TDs and three INTs for UTSA. His adjusted net yards per pass attempt stands at a mediocre 4.61 for the season and 7.79 over his last two games. In the other locker room, Abraham has put up 2,427 passing yards this season. He’s completed 172-of-242 attempts with 15 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. Abraham has an 8.91 ANY/A for the year, although that number is 5.52 over the past two games.
These two teams faced off last year with the final result being a 27-17 win for Southern Miss.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. UTSA Roadrunners Betting Pick
SU Winner: Golden Eagles, ATS Winner: Golden Eagles, O/U: Over
Team Betting Trends
- The Southern Miss defense has 31 sacks on the year while UTSA has just 18.
- The UTSA offense has lost eight fumbles in 2019 while the Southern Miss offense has lost five.
- The Golden Eagles offense has created 13 pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Roadrunners have accounted for two such plays.
- The Southern Miss defense has allowed nine pass plays of 40 or more yards, while UTSA has given up six such plays.
- The Southern Miss offense has created eight rushing plays of 20+ yards, while UTSA has created 14 such runs.
- The Golden Eagles defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Roadrunners have given up 25 such runs.
- The Over/Under for UTSA’s last match going into it was 42.5. The over cashed in the 24-23 victory over Old Dominion.
- Over its last three games, UTSA is 3-0 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.
- In its last three games, Southern Miss is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- Southern Miss has won five of its last six games SU, with an October 19th defeat to Louisiana Tech accounting for the only loss over that stretch.
- The Over/Under for Southern Miss’ last game was 49.5. The under cashed in the team’s 37-2 victory over UAB.
- Southern Miss, as a team, has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over its last three games and 4.6 over its last two.
- UTSA has averaged 3.8 yards per carry over its last three outings and 3.4 over its last two.
