College football betting trends — Week 2: Edge for UNLV-UCLA
Bruce Marshall is a handicapper for CBS Sportsline. He provides the Review-Journal with college football notes and trends.
UCLA (-2½, 54) at UNLV: The Bruins have now lost their last four against the spread after getting crushed 43-10 by Utah in their season opener, though UCLA did have a four-game cover streak on the road in the middle of last season. The Rebels are only 4-4 in their last eight games at Allegiant Stadium, though they’re 7-3 ATS against non-conference foes. Edge: Slight to UNLV.
San Jose State at Texas (-36, 52): The Spartans went 2-6 ATS as underdogs last season, but the Longhorns have failed to cover their last two regular-season games after straight-up losses. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is 8-2 ATS at home against non-conference foes. Edge: Texas.
Florida International at Penn State (-42, 54): The Golden Panthers have failed to cover their last five as double-digit underdogs. They’re on a 12-6 over run, though they went under in their opener. The Nittany Lions failed to cover a huge price against UNR in their opener and are now just 6-6 laying 25 or more. Penn State coach James Franklin is just 4-7 ATS at Happy Valley. Edge: Slight to over.
Illinois (-3, 49) at Duke: The Fighting Illini are riding a five-game cover streak and 9-3-1 ATS run overall. Illinois is 6-1 ATS away from home. The Blue Devils are on an extended 23-12-1 spread run. Duke also is on a 9-4 over run. Edge: Slight to Illinois and over.
Iowa at Iowa State (-3, 41): Iowa had won six straight Cy-Hawk rivalry games but has now dropped two of the last three. The road team has covered the last four meetings and won the last five meetings outright. The Hawkeyes haven’t lost outright at Ames, Iowa, since 2011. Last season’s matchup went over to snap a five-game under streak in the series. Iowa State is on a 15-8 spread uptick. Edge: Under and Iowa.
Utah State at Texas A&M (-31, 54): Coach Bronco Mendenhall is on an 8-5 ATS run after winning and covering in his Utah State debut last week. Texas A&M is on an 0-6 spread slide and has covered only two of its last 11. Edge: Utah State.
Oklahoma State at Oregon (-28, 57): Cowboys coach Mike Gundy is mired in 0-6 and 1-9 spread skids overall, and he’s 1-7 ATS as an underdog. The Ducks are only 3-4 ATS as home favorites but 5-1 ATS in non-conference games. Edge: Oregon.
South Florida at Florida (-17, 56): The Bulls are riding spread streaks of 6-1 and 9-4 on the road. Gators coach Billy Napier, however, is on a 10-1 spread surge and Florida has covered four straight at home. Edge: Slight to Florida.
Louisiana Tech at LSU (-37, 50): The Bulldogs are on a 6-0 cover streak in the regular season and were 5-0 ATS as regular-season underdogs last year. LSU beat Clemson to improve to 6-6 ATS in its last 12 games. Both teams are riding 9-5 under runs. Edge: Under and Louisiana Tech.
Arizona State (-6½, 59) at Mississippi State: Rematch of a game from last September when the Sun Devils hung on for a 30-23 win and cover, though the spread would have been in high teens later in the season. Arizona State was 12-2 ATS last year, but fell short of a cover in its opener against Northern Arizona. The Bulldogs are on a 7-2 ATS uptick. Edge: Slight to Arizona State.
Michigan at Oklahoma (-5½, 45): The Wolverines went 3-4 ATS as underdogs last season for coach Sherrone Moore, who starts his two-game suspension next week against Central Michigan. The Sooners are on a 2-6 spread slide. Edge: Slight to Michigan.
Stanford at BYU (-18, 46): The Cardinal are on an 11-29-1 spread downturn overall and 6-15 ATS slide away from home. The Cougars are on a 10-4-1 spread uptick and 10-4 over run. Edge: BYU and over.
