UCLA Will Do Their Best to Hook Wounded Longhorns
By Charles Jay
The UCLA Bruins are 2-0, although no one even remotely associated with NCAA football betting will tell you that they have been overly impressive in doing it. But they have great athletes, a coach who is considered to be a “comer,” and a quarterback who garnered his share of pre-season Heisman hype. Put that all together and you have a team that will be laying points against the Texas Longhorns as they go into AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX for an 8 PM ET start.
UCLA comes into this game ranked twelfth in the nation in both of the major polls, but they have not played like it at all. And there have been excuses for them, at least as far as most BetAnySports patrons are concerned, to have made narrow escapes in each of these two games. The opener, for which they had to make a a cross-country trip to face Virginia, and managed only one offensive touchdown, getting three others on special teams and defense as they survived with a 28-20 victory. Then they had a life-and-death struggle against, of all teams, Memphis, in a game played at the Rose Bowl. allowing almost 500 yards in the 42-35 victory.
Texas began the season with a win against North Texas, when everybody knew they were looking ahead to the game they had circled – a rematch with BYU, which pummeled them 40-21 last season and gained an insane 550 yards on the ground – 259 by quarterback Taysom Hill – and spelled the end for defensive coordinator Manny Diaz immediately and head coach Mack Brown eventually. Charlie Strong, who came from Louisville, was thought to be bringing more discipline to the Texas side, and indeed he did, in a sense, issuing some suspensions right off the bat. But even a motivated club can’t overcome some things, and Texas was missing three offensive linemen as well as starting quarterback David Ash, and couldn’t get the job done, as they took it on the chin against from BYU, this time by a 41-7 score.
In the NCAA football betting odds that have been posted on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, the Bruins are laying some points as the quasi-visitor:
UCLA Bruins -7.5 (+100)
Texas Longhorns +7.5 (-120)
Over 50.5 Points -110
Under 50.5 Points -110
Vance Bedford, the Longhorns’ new hire at defensive coordinator, has been quoted as comparing UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley to former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton “Big, strong, athletic. I must admit, he has one of the best arms I’ve seen,” says Bedford.
Well, it wasn’t Hundley’s fault that UCLA did not defend well last week. He did his share, at least as far as the numbers show it, with 33 of 44 for 396 yards and three touchdowns. Will he have a chance to pad the Heisman stats against Texas, which is reeling from last week’s loss, but sure to benefit from Strong tutelage eventually? NCAA football bettors would love to know the answer to that question. So would head coach Jim Mora, the son of Jim Mora Sr., who may still be shouting “Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?”
Texas is hurting on the interior; the ‘Horns are missing three offensive linemen – tackles Desmond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle, who are suspended for a violation of team rules, as well as center Dominic Espinosa. BetAnySports patrons recognize that doesn’t offer much in the way of comfort for quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who went 20 of 31 for 176 yards in his first college start in place of David Ash, who is out with a concussion. Swoopes has athletic talent; that much is clear, but he is very much a work in progress, and we don’t know if he has made so much progress that he can be a real difference-maker here.
It’s early enough in this college football season for you to get on board with a winner. BetAnySports allows you to take advantage of reduced juice on games, so why don’t you just give it a try now?