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Free NCAA Football Prediction: Cardinals vs. Cowboys Odds
Looking for Ball State Cardinals vs. Wyoming Cowboys free picks? College football betting sees the Cardinals taking on the Cowboys on Saturday, September 18, 2021, at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, WY. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football game Week 3 predictions like this Cards Cowboys free pick.
College Football Handicapping Analysis: Week 3
Ball State Cardinals (1-1) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (2-0)
Date: Saturday, September 18, 2021
Time: 4:00 pm EST
Venue: War Memorial Stadium
NCAA Football ATS Spread Odds: Ball State +7 / Wyoming -7
NCAA Football Moneyline Odds: Ball State +220 / Wyoming -270
NCAA Betting Total Odds: O/U 53.5
Week 3 college football sees the Cards and Cowboys meet at War Memorial Stadium.
The Ball State Cardinals fell to 1 – 1 on the season after last weekend’s beat down from Penn State, 44 – 13. They’ll try to pick up the pieces and head to Laramie as 7-point underdogs this Saturday.
The Cards didn’t have a single-player rush for over 20 yards in the defeat and gave up nearly 500 yards of offense to the Nittany Lions.
The Cowboys have jumped out of the gate with 2 wins over Montana State and Northern Illinois, but there is plenty to be concerned about in Laramie. Montana State almost escaped with a win and Northern Illinois also could have upset the Cowboys in a 7-point final, 50 – 43. Yes, I said they gave up 43 points to a shit Huskies squad last weekend and that is the reason for the concern for head coach Craig Bohl.
The Cowboys are favored by 7 points in this MAC vs. MWC matchup.
Ball State Cardinals
Ball State still has an expectation to land in the MAC title game despite the non-conference results. Almost every starter from a season ago came back from a team that went 7 – 1 with the only loss being by 7 points to Miami Ohio.
Coach Mike Neu is in his 6th year with the program and he has not exactly fared well since taking over with last year being his first winning season. A shortened year it was, the Cardinals landed in a bowl against San Jose State and they took it to the upstart MW program, 34 – 13.
The Cardinals defense has been an issue and it looks like it might carry over a little longer into this season. As you look at the rankings, Ball State is 108th or worse in points allowed, passing yards, and total yards allowed.
Drew Plitt returned for his senior season and we have to factor in Penn State as one of their games because that defense is a step above what he normally sees in the MAC, obviously.
Plitt is 42 of 67 through both games and has a 2 / 2 ratio but his QB rating of 112.2 is poor. Plitt and Justin Hall have combined for 14 grabs, 172 yards, and 2 scoring strikes although no other receiver has found the end zone yet.
The Cards have already gotten 14 receivers of the ball through 2 outings, but they have a pair of trusted backs to rely on. Will Jones is over 100 yards with a trip to paydirt and Carson Steele has found his way to the end zone twice along with his 97 yards in the ground game.
Wyoming Cowboys
Well, 2 – 0 looks great on paper but anyone in this Cowboys locker room knows that they barely got by an FCS Bobcats program and a terrible NIU outfit to get there. Wyoming could have just as easily lost both games and could be 0 – 2 entering this weekend’s affair with the Cards.
The Cowboys only found wins over Hawaii and UNLV a year ago and scoring was just not a thing at all in 2020. The 50 points last weekend also look good on paper but the Cowboys still rank 82nd in the nation in total yards.
Sean Chambers ended up grabbing the starters role at QB this season but it wasn’t a sure thing and he was challenged for the spot. Levi Williams was seemingly headed to steal the role and there were some big articles out about how happy he was to transfer to Laramie. He might not be as happy to be watching from the sidelines but Chambers earned the starters spot with accuracy and his ability to use his legs to stretch drives.
Chambers is the 3rd leading rusher for the Cowboys having gained 67 yards on 22 carries and a score with his feet. That added dimension combined with some bad habits that Williams picked up from a shoulder injury combined to land him the starter’s spot.
Xaazvian Valladay is Wyoming’s leading rusher with 178 yards on 40 carries along with 2 trips to paydirt. Titus Swen, Valladay, and Chambers are basically the 3 running options for head coach Craig Bohl. Swen averages 5 yards a dash and has one score to go with a 9-yard reception out of the backfield.
Ayden Eberhardt and Isaiah Neyor have basically gotten the bulk of the carries this season. They have combined for 239 yards from 15 carries although Neyor has found the end zone twice and Eberhardt is still waiting to get there.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Over is 8-2 in the Cardinals’ last 10 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
- Over is 7-1 in Cowboys’ last 8 vs. MAC.
- Over is 5-2 in Cowboys’ last 7 games as a favorite.
- Cardinals are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games as an underdog.
- Cardinals are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games.
- Cowboys are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite.
Free Week 3 NCAA Football Pick
I do believe we will see some points in Laramie so I will point you to that total that is rather low at 53.5.
4* Free Week 3 NCAA Betting Pick:
We’re going over, baby! Show us points and splash the pot with a little play on the total to go over the number.
4* Free Week 3 NCAA Betting Pick: Over 53.5
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