NCAA Betting Action – Troy Trojans at Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Trojans of Troy University (2-1 SU, 2-0 ATS), who represented themselves well at Columbus last weekend, hit the road again on Saturday when they take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0 SU, 2-0 ATS) in NCAA inter-conference college football action that is slated for a 7:05 PM ET kickoff at Boone Pickens Stadium (artificial turf) in Stillwater, OK.
Saturday, September 27
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: OKLAHOMA STATE -17
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* TROY has won ten of its last 13 games SU
* TROY has covered six of its last seven games
* TROY has played seven of its last nine games UNDER the total
* TROY has won five of its last seven road games SU
* TROY has covered nine of its last 11 road games
* OSU has won five of its last six games SU
* OSU has covered four of its last six games
* OSU has played five of its last eight games OVER the total
* OSU has won seven of its last nine home games SU
* OSU has covered one of its last four home games
What’s this? Oklahoma State, which has been known as a high-scoring, airborne squad the last several years, is the nation’s second-ranked rushing team? And they are tops in Division I with 6.7 yards per carry? That’s right, and they owe it in large part to Kendall Hunter, the sophomore running back who is chalking up eight yards a carry and rambled for 21-0 yards against Houston is the season;s second week. Hunter is fourth in the country in rushing, but he’s only got roughly 45% of the backfield’s yards, so this team is deep back there. Although Zac Robinson only has four TD passes, he is eighth in the nation in passing efficiency. So the running game actually enhances his overall effectiveness. It should be noted that one of OSU’s “games” was an exhibition with Missouri State, while the other two foes (Houston and Washington State) are usually found wanting on the defensive side.
So does Troy, which has allowed just 2.8 yards a carry by opponents, offer up the kind of defensive challenge that would test Oklahoma State’s numbers? Hard to tell. The Trojans are coming off a game at Ohio State where they acquitted themselves well, outgaining the Buckeyes 315-309 even in a 28-10 defeat.
What we know about Troy is that this team can score some points. That’s the residue of former offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, who’s since gone off to Auburn. Sophomore QB Jamie Hampton (6 TD’s, 5 INT’s) may not be as productive yet as his predecessor, Omar Haugebook, but this team rolled up over 700 yards of offense in its own exhibition blowout against Alcorn State.
Oklahoma State comes to the table with solid special teams play (first in punting, fourth in punt returns). But Troy is a team that is hardly intimidated on road trips, having visited Florida State, Florida, Nebraska, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Ohio State over the past couple of years. And they’ve covered nine of the last 11 as a traveler. If they’re not drained from the game in Columbus, they have a shot to be very competitive here. We’ll take the points with Troy,t he 17-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college football betting odds.
