Connecticut Houston Odds

The No. 6 Houston Cougars host the Connecticut Huskies on Thursday, September 29th in an American Athletic Conference clash. The Huskies handed the Cougars their only loss last season in a 20-17 home victory as 7.5-point underdogs.

Houston (4-0, 1-0 AAC) is coming off a 64-3 beat down of Texas State on the road last week. Greg Ward Jr. threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 39 yards and a score in the lopsided victory.

Connecticut (2-2, 0-1 AAC) fell 24-31 at home to Syracuse last week. Bryant Shirreffs threw for 264 yards and a touchdown with an interception, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskies fell back to .500 on the season.

Kickoff inside TDECU Stadium is set for 8:00 EST Thursday night with ESPN providing the television coverage. If you are looking to wager on this game, you’ll find Houston as a 27.5-point favorite over Connecticut with a total set of 51 points.

My Early Lean: Houston -27.5

The Cougars seem to be on a mission right now to make the playoff. They know they are going to need style points along the way if they are going to be one of the final four teams standing at season’s end. It appears head coach Tom Herman is keeping the foot on the gas every week.

After a huge 33-23 win over Oklahoma in the opener, the Cougars have gone on to win three straight games in blowout fashion. They topped Lamar 42-0 in Week 2 despite playing without two of their best players in QB Greg Ward Jr. and RB Duke Catalon.

In Week 3, they went on the road as only 7-point favorites and hammered a good Cincinnati team 40-16. Then last week, they kept their foot on the gas in a 64-3 win at Texas State for four quarters as 31-point favorites.

Adding fuel to the fire for the Cougars is the fact that their only loss last season came to Connecticut by a final of 20-17 on the road. However, Greg Ward Jr. got hurt very early in that game and had to leave after only four pass attempts. The Huskies took advantage. The Cougars are going to want serious revenge here.

Connecticut has played a very easy schedule thus far with Maine, Navy, Virginia and Syracuse. Its only two wins came over Maine (24-21) and Virginia (13-10) at home by a combined six points. Now it will face by far the toughest team it has this season in Houston.

The Huskies don’t have the offensive firepower to keep up in this one. They are only averaging 354 yards per game and 4.9 per play against opponents that are allowing 437 yards per game and 6.2 per play. Heck, their defense is even below-average this year as they are giving up 6.1 yards per play against teams that average 5.8 per play.

The Cougars are putting up 44.7 points and 497.5 yards per game this season. Their defense has been underrated, giving up 10.5 points, 228.7 yards per game and 4.1 yards per play. And they are one of the best defenses in the country over the past few years at forcing turnovers. They have already forced seven turnovers, while the Huskies have already turned it over six times.

Connecticut is 1-13 ATS after playing a home game over the last three seasons.

Connecticut is 1-13 ATS after playing a home game over the last three seasons. Houston is 7-0 ATS after scoring 42 points or more over the last two seasons. The Huskies are 6-20-1 ATS in their last 27 road games. The Cougars are 26-10-1 ATS in their last 37 games following a ATS win.

Plays on favorites of 21.5 to 31 points (HOUSTON) – outrushing their opponents by 1.25 or more yards/carry on the season, after outrushing opponent by 150 or more yards in two straight games are 32-7 (82.1%) ATS over the last 10 seasons.

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