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Red-hot BYU hosts Houston Thursday night
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 9/11/2014  at  5:08:00 AM
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HOUSTON COUGARS (1-1)
at BYU COUGARS (2-0)

Kickoff: Thursday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: BYU -18.5, Total: 58

After a beating of Texas this past weekend, the BYU Cougars host the Houston Cougars as they attempt to stay undefeated.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

Houston did not look good in the first game of the season, falling by a score of 27-7 against the UTSA Roadrunners, but bounced back in an easy matchup facing Grambling State, prevailing by a score of 47-0 in against a Tigers team that was 1-11 last season. Not too much should be taken from the win, since Grambling state hurt themselves with 15 penalties for 147 yards while also turning the ball over six times as the Cougars converted only 4-of-14 on third downs. BYU has looked great in its first two games, first handling Connecticut with a 35-10 win followed by a huge 41-7 defeat of Texas in Austin as one-point underdogs. It was their defense that was the hero here, grabbing four takeaways and holding a usually potent Longhorns offense to a woeful 258 total yards. The rushing attack for the Cougars was unstoppable with 248 yards on the ground; giving them two consecutive games over 200 rushing yards. Last year these programs met and both offenses were clicking in a 47-46 barnburner, which BYU won, but failed to cover as a 10-point favorite. Both teams threw for more than 400 yards with the big difference coming from the Brigham Young runners as they outpaced Houston on the ground 264 to 48. Bettors should take into consideration that BYU is a mere 7-26 ATS (21%) after a two-game road trip since 1992 while Houston is 1-9 ATS after allowing six points or less in their previous game in the same timeframe. There are no significant injuries going into this contest for either team.

Can the BYU Cougars cover the huge spread against the Houston Cougars? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season. During the 2013 season, StatFox Dave led the experts with a 55% ATS mark (38-31-2), while Gary and Brian both finished with another winning season (51% ATS). StatFox Scott saved his best for last with a 5-2 ATS mark (71%) in college football bowl Best Bets.

Houston’s usually potent offense currently ranks 80th in rushing (218 YPG) and 102nd in passing (124.5 YPG), and has not faced a tough team such as BYU. Leading their offense is QB John O’Korn who was solid last season (3,117 yards, 28 TD, 10 INT) and has completed 35-of-68 passes (52%) for 404 yards (5.9 YPA) while throwing just a single touchdown and four picks this year. It was his play that took the team down against UTSA as he threw 4 INT and completed a mere 21-of-43 attempts. It does get a little more promising with the running game, as HB Kenneth Farrow has rushed for 151 yards on 20 attempts (7.6 YPC) and a touchdown while last year’s top rusher, HB Ryan Jackson, has two touchdowns in 13 attempts (50 yards). The team likes to spread the ball out, and through the first couple of contests they already have three different players with seven or more receptions. Leading the way is WR Deontay Greenberry (206 yards) while WR Greg Ward Jr. (40 yards) has the sole receiving touchdown. It is hard to size up the Cougars defense at this point of the season with their shutout victory coming against such a weak team, but they have allowed their opponents to gain 263 yards per game so far. Both LB Derrick Mathews (16 tackles, 1 sack) and DB Trevon Stewart (10 tackles) hope they can continue to put forth solid performances as this team looks to win their second straight contest.

BYU has been phenomenal in the early going while ranking in the top-65 at both passing (244.5 YPG) and rushing (226.5 YPG) with 38.0 PPG (42nd in FBS). QB Taysom Hill (489 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) has improved through the air this year after throwing 14 interceptions in 2013, but threw for just 181 yards and 1 INT in the win over Texas. The real threat comes from Hill’s legs, which have propelled him to 194 yards (5.4 YPC) and five touchdowns after leading the team with 1,344 rushing yards (5.5 YPC, 10 TD) in 2013. Helping him in the backfield will be HB Jamaal Williams who missed the first game of the year, but went for 89 yards (4.7 YPC) against the Longhorns. These two players combined for 2,577 yards on the ground last year and should be the main focal point for any opposing defense. With last year’s top receiver, Cody Hoffman, out of the picture, the Cougars are targeting plenty of players, and four wideouts have caught at least five passes with WR Jordan Leslie (107 yards) leading the way. As mentioned previously, the defense for BYU is the main reason for the team's success, having allowing only 8.5 PPG and 306.5 YPG to their opponents over the first two weeks. LB Bronson Kaufusi had two sacks in the first game of the year and hopes to be an important piece of this defense moving forward.


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