Free NCAA Football Prediction: Rockets vs. Cardinals Odds
Looking for Toledo Rockets vs. Ball State Cardinals free picks? College football betting sees the Rockets taking on the Cardinals on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, IN. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football game Week 4 predictions like this Rockets Cardinals free pick.
College Football Handicapping Analysis: Week 4
Toledo Rockets (1-2) vs. Ball State Cardinals (1-2)
Date: Saturday, September 25, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm EST
Venue: Scheumann Stadium
NCAA Football ATS Spread Odds: Toledo -4.5 / Ball State +4.5
NCAA Football Moneyline Odds: Toledo -200 / Ball State +180
NCAA Betting Total Odds: O/U 56.5
Week 4 college football sees the Rockets and Cardinals meet at Scheumann Stadium.
The Toledo Rockets and Ball State Cardinals each have one win apiece, however, those wins were against FCS programs and both are 0 – 2 coming into this weekend’s clash at Scheumann Stadium.
The Rockets’ lone win came against Norfolk opening weekend as losses to the Irish and Colorado State have followed since. Despite giving Notre Dame a good fight (32 – 29), the loss to the Rams last weekend is concerning. Toledo kicked two field goals the entire game and ended the night with only 21 total rushing yards.
The Cardinals were supposedly going to have a more efficient offense in 2021 after putting up stupid numbers in 2020. Drew Plitt and company all came back for one more year and so far, so uh, not good! Mike Neu needs to get everybody back on the same page, and soon. Army is on deck next weekend and the Red Birds will hit the road to restart conference play against WMU and EMU.
The Rockets are favored by -4.5 points in this MAC West Division matchup.
Toledo Rockets
While we will get into the Ball State issues at QB, the Rockets have their own concerns keeping their signal-caller upright. Carter Bradley has been sacked 11 times through 3 outings but he has not thrown the ball to the other team yet which is certainly a positive. Bradley has gone 48 of 76 tossing the ball for 658 yards and he has a pair of TD strikes that went to Devin Maddox and his RB Bryant Koback.
Koback also has 2 scores on the ground and is leading the team with 192 yards from 42 carries. However, the Rockets rank 111 in overall rushing yards (116.7) and 90th in total yards (361.7).
Luckily for them, the Ball State defense is a complete mess and doesn’t rank above 90th in any main defensive category. That includes 119th in points allowed and 111th against the pass to go with only creating 1 turnover through 3 affairs.
Can we highlight the kicker? Sure, let’s do it. Thomas Cluckey is 9 for 9 with XPs and 5 for 5 with his field-goal attempts.
The Toledo defense has already grabbed 7 sacks, picked up 2 INTs, and forced two fumbles in the young campaign. That will come in handy against a struggling offense that is Ball State right now.
Ball State Cardinals
Drew Plitt, Justin Hall, and basically everyone else on both sides of the ball came back for 2021 and Mike Neu. After a 7 – 1 campaign that included a bowl sin over San Jose State, the expectations for success in Muncie were certainly elevated.
All right, we can forgive the loss to Penn State and we obviously saw why that one can go down as a game they were simply not going to win. So, last weekend’s loss to Wyoming threw some concerns around. Plitt got sacked 5 times and was 8 for 14 with a pick and then John Paddock came on the field again. I don’t think anyone foresaw anything but Plitt taking this offense to the next level after what he did a year ago, and this is simply not happening.
Paddock went 13 for 20 but also only produced a pick and no scores. So now we have two QBs who are struggling to help the team move the ball? No bueno!
So, Steele and Jones better be running their asses off this weekend, or else that will put that much more pressure on either QB. The two have combined for 63 carries and 329 yards and 5 scores on the ground, but we expect Toledo to be well aware that this run game will be relied on heavily to start the game.
You would think getting 6 of your O-linemen would help keep the ball moving with ease too, so why is this offense struggling so bad? The bigger question is can it be fixed soon enough to not let 2021 get away from them.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Rockets are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games as a road favorite.
- Rockets are 14-6-1 ATS in their last 21 games in September.
- Cardinals are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games in September.
- Cardinals are 9-23 ATS vs. a team with a losing record.
- Cardinals are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games.
- The road team is 10-3 ATS in their last 13 meetings.
Free Week 4 NCAA Football Pick
The Ball State offense is a mess and their defense might be among the worst in all of FBS. That is concerning as hell when we have money on a team to perform. If we have to have action, Toledo is the play at -4.5 because this total is tricky that high.
4* Free Week 4 NCAA Betting Pick:
Toledo is the play and we have to lay those points on the road against a struggling Cards squad on both sides of the ball.
4* Free Week 4 NCAA Betting Pick: Toledo -4.5
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