College Football Vegas Odds: Connecticut vs. Virginia Free Prediction

Virginia will play host to Connecticut this week, in a rematch of last year’s 13-10 nail-biter that went in favor of the Huskies. Kickoff is at noontime from Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. The game can be seen on ESPN2.

Connecticut Huskies vs. Virginia Cavaliers NCAAF Odds and Preview

This isn’t exactly a matchup of offensive heavyweights.

It will take Randy Edsall time before he gets the UConn program back to what it was when he first coached there. They had a quicker pace and a little more confidence in their season-opening win. But that was against Holy Cross, and any momentum they may’ve gained from it was squandered when their next game was cancelled.

As for Virginia, they were silenced at home last week by Indiana. It’s further proof they’re not ready to take the step out of the ACC cellar. Their 115th-ranked scoring offense from last year looks as if it has yet to make major improvements. This showed last week, when they managed only 55 yards rushing in a 34-17 loss. The passing game, though, does at least look promising.

These two blundering programs have an over/under set at 51, which may be way too high. Virginia is currently 10.5-point favorites.

NCAA Football Point Spread Prediction: Virginia -10.5

Both of these teams are on 0-6 strings ATS. Something must give. Connecticut ended last year with six straight losses. In the last four, they only scored 13 points. Yet surprisingly, one of their three wins last year was over the Cavaliers.

They shouldn’t be expected to repeat such fortune, as Virginia has at least shown to be somewhat competent on defense. And that may be all it takes to hold UConn to single digits. The Huskies will be a bit more daring and quick with their play-calling, but they have neither the personnel or the synchronization to go off on an offensive tear.

Virginia at least has a returning QB in Kurt Benkert who can spice up the vertical game with a couple of downfield threats at WR. UConn was also horrible versus the pass (107th) in 2016, and have very little returning in the secondary. In their opener, they let Holy Cross throw for 358 yards. Holy Cross had only thrown for that many yards once all of last season.

The Cavaliers ran into a flat-out talented Indiana offense and had more first downs and nearly as many yards. It shows they’re at least capable of moving the ball somewhat consistently. And that’s bad news for the Huskies secondary.

The one plus for UConn is on their defensive line. Don’t expect Virginia to find big holes against a squad returning five of their front six. If they can also disrupt Benkert’s timing, they stand a chance. But as long as the Cavaliers can score about three touchdowns worth of points, they’ll have no problem ATS.

They’ll have issues in coverage against teams like Louisville, Miami, and several other teams still to come. But against a team that hasn’t shown as much as a pulse on offense yet, there shouldn’t be nearly as much to worry about.

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