The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (-3.5) and Old Dominion Monarchs are set to collide on the turf at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. This afternoon game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET and ESPN+ is scheduled to have the TV rights.
Betting Preview: Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Old Dominion Monarchs
Old Dominion enters this CUSA game as the underdog and is currently receiving 3.5 points. The Blue Raiders are also receiving -175 moneyline odds while the Monarchs are +155. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 60 points, and if one side can get out in front in the early stages, it will likely create a nice betting opportunity in-game.
Sharp bettors have been siding with the Monarchs. This line originally opened at 5.5 while the over/under was set initially at 59.5.
The Blue Raiders are 3-4 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 2.6 units so far. They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an Over-Under record of 2-5.
The disappointing Monarchs have lost 5.8 units this season. The team is 3-5 ATS and the over has hit in seven of its games.
The Blue Raiders have gone 4-3 straight up (SU), including 3-1 SU against conference opponents. The Monarchs are 2-6 SU overall and 1-4 SU in conference play.
The Blue Raiders enter after a 21-13 win over Charlotte last week. Brent Stockstill completed 14-of-20 passes for just 111 yards, three scores and one interception. Ty Lee (six receptions, 60 yards, two TDs) and Thomas (three catches, 10 yards) handled the receiving duties in the win.
Old Dominion is coming off of a 37-34 win over Western Kentucky. The defense let the Hilltoppers run for 207 yards on 45 rush attempts, including two rush TDs. Joshua Samuel had a productive showing in the loss, recording 87 rushing yards on 15 attempts for Western Kentucky. For Old Dominion, Blake LaRussa completed 21-of-32 passes for 327 yards and one touchdown. Kesean Strong (125 yards on 27 rush attempts, two TDs) mounted the running attack while Travis Fulgham (seven receptions, 102 yards, one TD) and Jonathan Duhart (five catches, 74 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the win.
Middle Tennessee’s run the ball on 52.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Old Dominion has a rush percentage of 45.7 percent. The Blue Raiders have produced 115.9 rush yards/game (including 115.0 per game versus Conference USA opponents) and have nine touchdowns on the ground this year. The Monarchs are totaling 113.5 rushing yards per game (124.2 in conference) and have 15 total rush TDs.
The Blue Raiders offense has tallied 220.6 yards/contest in the air overall (207.3 per game versus conference opposition) and has 13 passing scores so far. The Monarchs have recorded 306.0 pass yards per outing (306 against CUSA foes) and have 14 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Middle Tennessee appears to have the upper hand in both facets. The team has allowed opponents to run for an average of 177.1 yards and pass for 228.3 yards per game. The Old Dominion defense has allowed 278.5 yards per game to opposing passers and 235.9 yards per game to opposing runners. The Blue Raiders are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 5.96 to opponents, while the Monarchs have allowed an 8.09 ANY/A.
LaRussa likely has the advantage over Stockstill in this one. His adjusted net yards per pass attempt stands at 7.77 for the season and 6.60 over his past two outings while Stockstill’s ANY/A is 6.34 (and 4.40 over the last two games).
These two teams faced off a year ago with the final outcome being a 41-10 win for Middle Tennessee.
