UTEP at Memphis Odds
Written by Anthony Moretti - Google +
Arkelon Hall was ineffective in the first two games of the season, going 15 for 30 against Ole Miss in the season opener and 13 for 22 against Middle Tennessee in the next one. The Tigers went down in both games and disappointed many of those customers who bet on football. After that, the change was made to Tyler Bass, a transfer from Maryland who hit nine of ten passes against Southern Miss in his only extended action last year and stepped in to hit four touchdown passes against Tennessee-Martin his first start. Bass can cover some ground with his feet and indeed he leads Memphis in rushing, but he’s lost his last two starts as the losses continue to mount. The spreads on this game show UTEP as 2-point favorites over Memphis.
Bass injured his shoulder in the loss to Central Florida this past week, though that’s not why he was benched in favor of Will Hudgens. He just wasn’t getting the job done. If Bass’ health isn’t going to allow him to play, what coach Tommy West will probably do is start Hudgens also use Hall. What those who bet on football can also count on happening is that Memphis is going to emphasize running the football. Curtis Steele, who gained 1223 yards last season but missed the last two games, is likely to be close to 100% healthy here, and T.J. Pitts, who missed the UCF game, should also be returning.
That will be good news against UTEP, which has been rolled pretty easily by Kansas and Texas and is allowing 5.3 yards per carry this season. They’re also ranked 117th in total defense, and the Miners have surrendered 34.8 points a game. After being humbled 64-7 against the Longhorns, upsetting many people who like dogs when they bet on football, coach Mike Price said his UTEP squad was going to rally and salvage its season, and in last Saturday’s game against Houston, they looked very much like a team doing exactly that, pulling away from the Cougars in the third quarter and jogging home for a 58-41 victory. The Miners looked a lot more like the team that was pegged by some as a favorite to contend for the Conference USA West title. The funny thing is, as bad as they’ve played, they’re in the running for it.
There was a bit of a flip side, however. Houston QB Case Keenum seemed to have his way with the Miner defense, passing for 536 yards and five touchdowns, and engineering no less than 42 first downs. Opponents have converted 44% on third down against UTEP. Donald Buckram, who had 262 yards on the ground against Houston, gives UTEP the consistent go-to ground element that Memphis has lacked, but hopes to get back this weekend. Are we to expect the same Trevor Vittatoe who passed for 276 yards and two scores against Houston, and who threw for 33 TD’s last season? Maybe.
People have talked about this being a “letdown” situation for the Miners, and that is certainly a possibility. Perhaps Price, who has led UTEP to two bowl appearances, really IS rallying his team. UTEP has more stability at quarterback and at the running back position, and they don’t have a coach who is likely to be packing at season’s end, at least as not as far as we know.
Anthony’s free picks for this weekend show: UTEP -2
Here are some of the college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* UTEP has covered two of its last six games
* UTEP has lost five of its last seven games SU
* UTEP has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* UTEP has lost 14 of its last 19 road games SU
* UTEP has played seven of its last eight road games OVER the total
* MEM has lost five of its last six games SU
* MEM is 0-5 ATS in its last five games
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