Week 5 college football and the TCU Horned Frogs will travel to Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas to take on the SMU Mustangs. The game has a start time of 12:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on CBSSN. Current Vegas odds have the Horned Frogs listed as 32.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 48.5.
Analysis: Gary Patterson is 122-44 in his career as headman of the TCU Horned Frogs, so last year’s 4-8 season was a stunner for this team. This year 16 starters return, while they lose just 18 lettermen overall and that should signify a return to the postseason for this very proud team. The Frogs have started out 2-0 this year, with wins over Sam Ford (48-14) and Minnesota (30-7) to their credit. The defense is always a staple of this team, but last year they struggled, allowing 25.3 ppg. This year with 8 starters back, they should return to playing the tough defense that TCU has been known for. Granted they haven’t played a tough schedule, but so far that defense has looked very good, allowing just 205.5 ypg (2nd in nation) and just 10.5 ppg (5th). Trevone Boykin has been solid under center, throwing for 578 yards and 4 TDS in two games so far. The Fogs rank 32nd in the nation in total offense (491 ypg) and 34th in scoring (39 ppg).
SMU has had a horrible start to the year as they not only have lost all three games they have played, but they have been outscored by 44.7 ppg in the process and have lost their HC June Jones, who left the team citing personal reasons. This is a team in trouble this year. The offense put up 26.8 ppg last year and led the AAC in passing, but this year’s offense has been pathetic so far as they have scored just 12 points in 3 games and just 1 TD, which happened to be a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game vs North Texas. Neal Burcham started the year at QB but has been lost to injury. Garrett Krstich has taken over and in his lone start he threw for just 137 yards vs Texas A&M. The Mustangs are ranked last in the nation in total offense (194 ypg) and last in scoring (4 ppg), while on defense they are 123 rd in yards allowed (530 ypg) and last in the nation in points allowed (48.7 ppg).
Pick: Have to look at the Under in this one. This SMU offense is a mess and now will take on a very good TCU defense that has allowed just 10.5 ppg. Granted, the offenses they have played have not been good at all, but that what they will face here as well. The SMU offense has scored just 13 points in 3 games so far. Defensively the Mustangs are not good at all, but the TCU offense is all that great either and they are not the type of team to run up the score once they jump out to a big lead. 35-3 looks about right for this one, but don’t be surprised if you see something like 35-0 either as this SMU offense is just that bad.
Get Teddy Cover's 3* Big Ticket Shootout of the Month!!! For Free- No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for Football Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
College Football Free Picks: Iowa vs Purdue Betting
What college football bettors need to know about betting Iowa Hawkeyes vs Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday (9/27/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Bryan Leonard with added insight from Steve Fezzik and Brady Kannon.