Week 1: Ragin’ Cajuns vs Wildcats Odds
College football betting sees the UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns taking on the Kentucky Wildcats Thursday September 4th at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions.
UL Lafayette (0-0) vs. Kentucky (0-0)
Week 1
Date: Saturday, September 5th
Time: 7:00 PM
Venue:Commonwealth Stadium, Kentucky
NCAA Football Spread: -17
NCAA Betting Total: 60.5
NCAA Moneyline Odds: N/A
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The Kentucky Wildcats will host the UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns in their season and home opener this year, in their recently renovated Commonwealth Stadium.
Kentucky started out strong last year going 5 – 1 and looking like a bowl contender, then took their foot off the gas while they lost their remaining 6 games, letting opponents score 36 or more points in seven of their 12 matches last season.
Kentucky are coming into this contest as heavy favorites, they are returning most of the talent that led them to a 5 – 1 start last season. Mark Stoops has been making some real progress with the team since he took over two seasons ago.
The Ragin’ Cajuns finished last season with a record of 9 – 4, the fourth time the team has finished with that record since head coach Mark Hudspeth joined the team, also leading the team to bowl victories. Now he will try to lead his team to a season opening victory on the road, which will no doubt be a difficult task.
WR Jared Johnson who had 3 TDs last season will miss the entire year with a knee injury.
UL-Lafayette
The Ragin’ Cajuns will attempt to upset Kentucky without last year’s QB Terrance Broadway who has since graduated. They could try to mix things up on the Wildcats by using a combination of Brooks Haack and Jalen Nixon, with both competing for the starting job.
Returning running back Elijah McGuire will be the Ragin’ Cajuns top offensive threat, now that last year’s top players have moved on, teams will be able to focus more on stopping McGuire and the Ragin’ Cajun’s run game.
Defensively, the Ragin’ Cajuns have a whole new shipment of players, it will surely take time for them to gel on that side of the ball, UL-Lafayette will be hoping Texas A&M transfer Darzil Washington can lead that side of the ball.
With lots of new players on both sides of the ball and two QBs fighting for a starting position, things look like they are going to be rough to start the season for coach Mark Hudspeth’s squad.
Kentucky
The Wildcats will be looking for another strong start to the season, with stud QB Patrick Towles leading the way. Towles produced 3,255 total yards last year, throwing for 2,718 and leading the team in rushing with 537 yards. However, Towles got sack 36 times last year and only has a 57% completion percentage, throwing 14 TDs and 9 INTs.
Mark Stoops has done very well with the school since taking over two seasons ago, besides losing the last 6 games of last season, they started very strong and played well, their defense collapsed toward the end of the season and eventually Towles just looked liked the opposite quarter back than when he started that year.
Head coach Stoops has hired Shannon Dawson to work specifically with Towles and help improve his game, focus and confidence.
Kentucky finished last year with a 5 – 7 record, knowing they can, they will be looking to finish this season above .500. The team lost their top two defensive rushers from last year but have recruited well and should have a more solid defensive line that last year.
The Wildcats have a few injury and player concerns, one of the most important ones being Jason Hatcher, a DE that is supposed to be apart of their new solid defensive line, he will be suspended for the first two games of the season.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Over is 7-1 in ULL last 8 games in September.
- ULL are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
- Under is 7-3 in ULL last 10 road games.
- UK are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games in September.
Week 1 NCAA Football Prediction
Kentucky has better quality of talent on both sides of the ball and have the potential to blow out the Ragin’ Cajuns if they are not careful, the Cajuns also have the ability to make this a closer contest that the 17 point underdog status suggests. If the Ragin Cajun’s defense can get to QB Towles and cause him problems like the end of last year, and if the Kentucky can’t get their defense in check right off the bat, the Ragin’ Cajuns can get points on the board.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Kentucky -17
Kentucky’s schedule to end last season was pretty brutal, with games against LSU, Mississippi State, Georgia and Tennessee. Kentucky played great in the first few games of the season and I expect that to happen here. I expect Kentucky to take care of the Ragin’ Cajuns fairly easily. Kentucky is the better team on both sides of the ball and with so many changes happening on the Cajun starting roster, Kentucky -17 is the pick.
Week 1 Score Prediction: UL – Lafayette 10 – Kentucky 38
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