NCAA Football Betting - #23 South Florida vs. Rutgers
by Robby Maddux
Thursday night's ESPN matchup features a pair of 6-2 clubs straight up, with South Florida coming in ranked No. 23 against unranked Rutgers. Despite the Scarlet Knights being unranked, don't expect the Bulls to let off the throttle, which plays into the hands of football betting lovers that support totals.
The over has cashed in the last four consecutive meetings between the two, with the dog barking in the last four games. With the BetUS NCAA football odds listing the Scarlet Knights 2 1/2 point favorites with a game total of 44 1/2, the apparent play in this matchup is South Florida and the over.
South Florida will be playing without starting senior quarterback Matt Gothe, who went down with an injury on September 19. Freshman B.J. Daniels has stepped up, including upsets of two ranked opponents. In Daniels' last game, he threw for a career-high 232 yards and three touchdowns while running for 104 yards in a 30-19 win against then-No. 20 West Virginia on Oct. 30.
The score in the previous contest indicates the strong possibility of a South Florida cover, considering the Bulls are 5-1 against the spread in their next game after allowing 20 points or less. As for the total, the Bulls have put the number over four consecutive times overall and in conference play.
The Scarlet Knights are a money dropping 1-4 against the spread in their last five games played in front of its home crowd. Also, they are 1-4 against the spread when priced the favorite of three points or less, and a dismal 1-3-1 as the home chalk.
Analysis: Daniels gets his first career shot at the Scarlet Knights' defense, which ranks third in the Big East at 322.9 yards per game. Rutgers are also led by a freshman quarter back, Tom Savage. In conference play, the Scarlet Knights have pushed the number over in six of the last seven contests.
South Florida is coming all a bye week that will give them fresh legs, and when doing so, their games have went over the number in 7-of-10 games. Expect another track meet between these two schools which should go well above the number, and that's no bull. Good luck!
Free Football Picks: OVER 44 1/2 (Kickoff: 7:45pm EST)
