NCAA Football Betting – Washington State Cougars at UCLA Bruins
The Washington State Cougars (1-4 SU, 0-4 ATS) have been going through a horrible spell. On Saturday they will try to get something going against another team that is struggling, the UCLA Bruins (1-3 SU, 2-2 ATS), in Pac-10 action that is part of a big NCAA college football weekend. Kickoff time is 10:15 PM ET at the Rose Bowl (natural turf) in Pasadena, CA.
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: UCLA -17
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* WSU has lost four of its last five games SU
* WSU has covered two of its last eight road games
* WSU has lost seven of its last eight road games SU
* WSU has played six of its last nine road games OVER the total
* UCLA has covered six of its last eight games
* UCLA has lost five of its last six games SU
* UCLA has played eight of its last 12 games UNDER the total
* UCLA has covered five of its last six home games
* UCLA has won 18 of its last 24 home games SU
* UCLA has played five of its last seven home games UNDER the total
Also….
* WSU has covered the last seven meetings
* WSU has won six of the last seven meetings SU
* Four of the last six meetings have gone OVER the total
Wow, what a matchup. No, we really mean it. Both of these teams have suffered outrageously humiliating losses this season. Of course, UCLA’s defeat was very high-profile, as they fell behind 42-0 at the half en route to a 59-0 loss to BYU as they gained nine yards on the ground and allowed 521 total yards. Things got perhaps even more discouraging two weeks ago, as the Bruins went down to a 31-10 defeat against Arizona.
But has any team been through the misery Washington State has endured in its transitional period under coach Paul Wulff? The Cougars dropped the season opener by a 39-13 count to Oklahoma State, which in retrospect looks like something that would have offered encouragement. But after losses of 66-3 to California, 45-17 to Baylor and 63-14 to Oregon, all of which saw the Wazzu defense surrender over 500 yards, there appears to be no limit to the “sparring partner mentality” this team possesses.
WSU is now second to last in turnover margin (minus-13), 117th in scoring defense, 103rd in scoring offense and 113th in protecting the passer (15 sacks allowed). How low can you go?
Actually, lower.
Washington State started the season with Gary Rogers as the starting quarterback. He went down with injury, out for the season, and was replaced by Kevin Lopina. Well, Lopina is out of action too, leaving Wulff and his no-huddle offense with third-string redshirt freshman Marshall Lobbestael, who did his best against Oregon but tossed a couple of interceptions. At least give Lobbestael a break; he doesn’t play defense for the Cougars.
Okay, back to UCLA. The Bruins finally had the services of both Derrick Coleman and Kahlil Bell against Fresno State last week, and that running back tandem combined for 160 yards, something that been noticeably missing from the attack. We don’t make strong recommendations on QB Kevin Craft, but the San Diego State transfer has thrown just one pickoff in his last three games, encompassing 90 throws. And though the UCLA defense has been challenged by functional offenses, we’re not sure WSU fits that category.
Because one team is much more capable of a good performance than the other, we’ll lay the points with the Bruins, the 17-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA college football betting odds.
