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Free Pick: #12 UCLA vs. Texas Betting Odds & Preview

Week 3: #12 Bruins vs Longhorns Line

College football Week 3 betting action sees the UCLA Bruins taking on the Texas Longhorns on Saturday, September 13th at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Cappers Picks provides free NCAA football handicapping tips all season long.

#12 UCLA is going into hostile territory when it heads to Austin, Texas to take on first year head coach Charlie Strong’s Texas Longhorns. While UCLA is 2-0 this year, it has been an ugly journey.

College Football Lines

#12 UCLA (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12) @ Texas (1-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, September 13th 8:00 PM ET @ Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium – Austin
NCAA Football Spread: UCLA -7.5
NCAA Football O/U: 50.5
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Click here to view… ATS Stats & Expert NCAA Betting Prediction Insight!

The Longhorns are still licking their wounds from the 41-7 loss to BYU last week and hope a huge win over the Bruins will get them back in the national picture.

Tyrone Swoopes was just filling in last week for David Ash against the Cougars. News this week that Ash is out indefinitely makes Swoopes the permanent starter for the rest of the season. The question now is whether or not Swoopes can rally his troops and get a rhythm going.

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For UCLA, their two games have been polar opposites: one game the offense starred and the defense struggled mightily while the next game saw the defense absolute dominate while the offense struggled to put together drives.

#12 UCLA

The 2-0 start is nice, but they know they have a lot of work to do. With glaring issues on the offensive line and a defense that needs to find it’s identity, the Bruins must find a way to let Brett Hundley make the big plays he made last season.

This season, Hundley is 53 of 77 through the air with 638 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. On the ground, he has 26 carries for 65 yards and a score as well.

In the backfield, running back Paul Perkins is leading the ground game with 178 yards and 2 touchdowns so far this season. Through the air, Jordan Payton has been the biggest beneficiary, racking up 202 yards on 15 catches. Thomas Duarte has 7 catches for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The offensive line might be the biggest question for UCLA, as it has allowed Hundley to be sacked 9 times already this season. The Bruin defense has had its moments this season despite the glaring talent. Leading the way is Eric Kendricks who has 26 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, 1 pass defense and a forced fumble.

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Next is Myles Jack, who has 19 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 2 passes defended. Jack has also seen some time at running back and will likely get a larger workload on offense, possibly as early as this week against the Longhorns.

Texas

Texas is still unhappy after being trounced by BYU last week. The offense had to work with a new quarterback for the first time without three of its starting offensive linemen. With one week under their belt together now, the Longhorns offense is tasked with taking on a young and tenacious UCLA defense as spotty at times as their own.

With David Ash leaving in week one’s game, Swoopes has had some time to get used to the live action gameplay. Despite his low numbers, his running of the offense wasn’t terrible as he connected on his first 8 attempts. Keeping him upright will be one issue while the other is the possibility of losing their second most productive wide receiver, Jaxon Shipley, to a head injury.

Swoopes is 20 of 31 on the year for 176 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. On the ground, the duo of Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown have been the strength of this Longhorn offense the last year. This season, Gray has 129 yards on 30 carries while Brown has 93 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries.

John Harris is leading the receiving corps with 15 catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

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The Longhorn defense has 21 tackles for loss already this season, including 5 sacks. They have also racked up 5 interceptions, 9 passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

NCAA football handicapping trends

  •  Over is 4-0 in Bruins last 4 games following a S.U. win
  •  Over is 10-3 in Bruins last 13 vs. Big 12
  •  Over is 4-0 in Longhorns last 4 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game
  •  Over is 5-1 in Longhorns last 6 games in September
  •  Over is 6-2 in Longhorns last 8 non-conference games

Week 3 NCAA Football Prediction

This one is really anyone’s game. If Texas can get pressure on Hundley and force sacks, the UCLA offense could be in trouble. On the other hand, UCLA’s defense hasn’t held up well and they will be looking at two running backs who can do serious damage.

With Ash out and possibly Shipley, too, the Longhorns will have to pick up a lot of extra slack. Probably too much.

Free NCAA Betting Pick: 4* Play on the OVER (50.5)

Final Week 3 Score: #12 UCLA 28 – Texas 27

Check out our Updated College Football Week 3 Odds.

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By Brandon Banks

Brandon Banks is a newcomer to the Cappers Picks Blog, he has been a sports writer for a few years now. He's been a very successful bettor, especially in NFL, College football & NCAA hoops betting. Reasons for success - not affiliated with any SCAMDICAPPERS. Stay tuned to Brandon, he'll be picking NFL, CFB, CBB and NBA games daily here on the blog.