7:30p ESPN: UCONN (-4.5) @ Rutgers (O/U: 43.5)
9:30p ESPN2: Oklahoma State (-24) @ UL-Lafayette (O/U: 62)
Double header on a Friday night, well kind of. For those of you at the bar tonight, or those stuck at home, there is some mild "entertainment" on the WWL in the form of a "who can suck worse" Big East conference game and a ranked Big XII opponent playing on the road in the Sun Belt.
Early Game
First game looks to be a snoozer. UCONN may not be as good as advertised in the preseason. They're currently 3-2 overall, but their wins are unimpressive at best. They've beaten FCS Texas State, a pretty good FCS team, Buffalo and Vandy. We all know their first loss, but the other came against a decent Temple squad that gave Penn State fits a few weeks ago too.
Rutgers is the Rutgers that the blue hairs remember - only slightly better defensively. They are only giving up 12 points per game this season, but that's against a schedule featuring Norfolk State (W), Florida International (W), a close game with the shell of UNC (L), and a loss(!) to the Tulane Green Wave.
I'm liking UCONN to cover. Rutgers is bad. No idea on the O/U. I'm feeling the under, but no confidence.
Late Game
Pokes at Rajun Cajuns. I don't think this game is in doubt at all. Okie State is worth the watch though. They're one of the undefeated Big XII teams (Mizzou being the other) flying under the radar right now. They haven't played anyone of interest yet (Wazzou, Troy, Tulsa, and TAMU), but they've played at least decent in the games. Something tells me they'll be looking to improve on that Thursday nationally televised game against A&M. I like them to cover the spread and some. I'm feeling something in the 50-3 range, much like the UL-L 7-55 loss to Georgia to open the season, so I'm taking the under.
Runs a spread offense similar to ours?