College football on Saturday afternoon and we will see the San Jose State Spartans travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to take on the UNLV Rebels. The game will televised on the Mountain West Network and has a start time of 4:00 pm (Eastern). Vegas odds have San Jose State listed as 4.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 66.
Analysis: After putting up an 11-2 mark in 2012, SJSU has already had to deal with a three-game slide this year, but at least the group has responded with a three-game win streak to again move above .500. Last Saturday, the Spartans produced a season-high 51 points in a seven-point victory over visiting Wyoming, with QB David Fales erupting for a career-high 482 passing yards and a total of six touchdowns, including the game-winner with eight seconds remaining. With Fales at the helm of the offense, SJSU ranks ninth in the country in passing with close to 350 ypg and yet the squad is still only 75th in scoring with 27.9 ppg. A favorite target for Fales, Chandler Jones has 40 receptions for 805 yards and nine touchdowns, easily the top numbers across the board for SJSU right now. Defensively, the Spartans allowed 599 yards to Wyoming last week and are ranked 100th in total defense and 89th is points allowed at 30.7 ppg. Now members of the same conference, this is the first meeting between the two squads since 1997 when SJSU posted a 55-48 win and moved to 11-5-1 in the all- time series.
It has been a long time coming, but the UNLV Rebels are fast approaching bowl eligibility and will attempt to move even closer to that goal this weekend. The Rebels recently put together an unprecedented four-game win streak, a significant step in the right direction considering the program has won no more than two games in any one of the first three seasons under head coach Bobby Hauck. Caleb Herring threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns as he guided the Rebels to the thrilling five-point win over the Wolf Pack last week and he now has 1594 yards passing with 13 Tds and just 1 INT on the year. The Rebels surrendered what seemed to be a significant 487 yards to Nevada, but they did hold the the Pack to a mere 2-of-15 on third down. Overall the Rebels defense is 105th in total, 119th vs the run and 106th in points allowed (34.5 ppg), but they do defend the pass well, allowing just 223.4 ypg, which is 51st.
Pick: Going with the Over in this one. The Spartans and Rebels have been in some high scoring games this year and this one should be no different. Both of these defenses are bad as the Rebels have allowed 34.5 ppg on the year, while San Jose State has allowed 35.3 ppg in their 6 games vs FBS foes this year. Those defenses will be going up against some good offenses as the Rebels have put up 34.1 ppg in their last 6 games, while the Spartans have averaged 40.7 ppg in their last 3 games. Really no reason why this one shouldn't hit at least 70 points.
If you are new to the site or have yet to cash in your FREE $25.00 credit given at sign-up, you can get Scott Spreitzer's CFB Conference Shocker Game of the Year for FREE!-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
RJ Bell Talks Daily Fantasy Sports — LISTEN on Soundcloud
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for CFB Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
College Football Free Picks: Southern Mississippi at Marshall
What college football bettors need to know about Southern Mississippi Golden Eagle at Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday (11/02/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Ken Thomson, with Bryan Leonard.