Fresno State Bulldogs at UCLA Bruins
NCAA Football Betting – Saturday, September 27
The Fresno State Bulldogs (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) may not be hopeful of a BCS bid any more, but they still have a chance to have a great season, and on Saturday they will attempt to take another step toward that when they visit Los Angeles County to play the UCLA Bruins (1-2 SU & ATS) in NCAA football action that is scheduled to take place at 3:30 PM ET at the Rose Bowl (natural turf) in Pasadena.
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: FRESNO STATE -7.5, Total 47
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* FRES has won five of its last six games SU
* FRES has covered five of its last seven road games
* FRES has won six of its last seven road games SU
* FRES has played six of its last nine road games OVER the total
* UCLA has covered five of its last seven games
* UCLA has lost four of its last five games SU
* UCLA has played eight of its last 11 games UNDER the total
* UCLA has covered four of its last five home games
* UCLA has won 18 of its last 23 home games SU
* UCLA has played five of its last six home games UNDER the total
Fresno State is a team that has never been known to shy away from stepping into the lion’s den, traveling into the territory of more well-established programs. Here, though, they would seem to have many of the fundamental advantages against its higher-profile opponent. UCLA has been a mess since the opening-weekend upset of Tennessee. The Bruins are scoring a point for every 19.5 yards gained on offense, with an average of five yards a pass attempt and two yards a rush. Quarterback Kevin Craft, who threw four interceptions even in the victory, got some garbage yards in the blowout loss to BYU but melted against Arizona, completing just 15 of 31.
Contrast that with the consistency exhibited by Fresno State senior QB Tom Brandstater, who’s completed 60% of his passes with only one pickoff. Fresno’s weaponry is also a little more balanced, as five different receivers have caught a touchdown pass, and Ryan Matthews, who was held to 54 net yards rushing against Wisconsin in Week 2, but should find more room here.
Fresno State experienced some attrition on its defensive line against Toledo (played for much of the game without either starting tackle) and the Rockets rolled for 297 yards on the ground. But those chinks in FSU’s armor may be things UCLA can’t exploit. Like we said, Fresno State wins the battle of fundamentals. And UCLA didn’t exactly come back with fire last week against Arizona after the complete and total (59-0) embarrassment at BYU.
UCLA’s offense is stuck in neutral, and by virtue of that we can’t back them. Instead, it’s Fresno State, the 7.5-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA college football betting odds.
