Houston at UCLA Odds
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the No.23 ranked Houston Cougars will go on the road to take on the UCLA Bruins, in what will be the first real test of the 2010 season for Houston. The Cougars had no trouble improving to 2-0 last week, as they beat up on UTEP 54-24 at home. As for UCLA, the Bruins come into this game off a very bad showing at home against Stanford, as they were shutout 35-0. The current odds give the edge to Houston, as the Cougars are 3-point favorites on the road over UCLA.
The Cougars have really looked sharp on offense in the first two games of the season, as Houston comes into the game this weekend averaging 61-points and nearly 577 yards of total offense. While quarterback Case Keenum threw for 279 yards last week, it was the running game that did the most damage. Bryce Beall had 195 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, and freshman Michael Hayes added another 77 yards and three touchdowns. Hayes was also a factor in the passing game, as he caught four passes for another 75 yards. Junior Patrick Edwards led the receivers with six catches for 118 yards.
The Cougars defense hasn’t been great, but it has been good enough to get the job done. The Cougars are going to give up some pretty high point totals this season, but if the offense keeps playing like they have it might not matter how bad the defense plays.
I was really surprised with the performance the Bruins displayed last week against Stanford, I wasn’t surprised to see Stanford win, but I didn’t expect UCLA to throw a goose egg on the board. The Bruins finished with just 233 yards of total offense, were a miserable 1 for 9 on third down conversions, and turned the ball over four times in the loss.
Things went so bad for quarterback Kevin Price, that he was pulled in favor of Richard Brehaut late in the third quarter. The Bruins finished the game with just 81 passing yards. The majority of the offense came on the ground, as sophomore Jonathan Franklin had 73 yards and freshman Malcolm Jones added 52 yards.
The Bruins should have a lot more success moving the ball against the Cougars defense, but I think the concern is more on the UCLA defense that has the difficult task of trying to stop one of the best offenses in all of college football. Things could get ugly for UCLA if they are unable to at least make this game close.
Looking at the Odds: I know Houston isn’t a BCS school, but I think they are definitely good enough to beat the Bruins on Saturday, and I not only like them to win the game, but I think they have no trouble what so ever covering the 3-point spread. Unfortunately for UCLA I think the Cougars are going to win this game by double-digits, as my final score prediction is Houston 38, UCLA 24.
One Response to “Houston at UCLA Odds”
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UCLA actually has some talent and was able to move the ball a bit against both Kansas and Stanford. But they are so horrendously inept at the fundamentals, prone to turnovers and stupid mistakes and penalties and unable to execute even the simplest of plays that I doubt they win more than a couple of games this year and are looking for a new coach by the end of the season. Houston in a rout.