The SMU Mustangs and South Florida Bulls face off on Saturday in a college football showdown at the Raymond James Stadium. When these two teams faced off last year it was SMU that secured the 41-17 victory.
SMU comes into this game with a 5-4 record overall and they have gone 4-5 against the spread. In the last game against Houston. SMU’s offense scored 77 points and that led to the victory. Tanner Mordecai completed 28 of his 37 passes for 379 yards, nine touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Tyler Lavine finished with 25 carries for 156 yards and a touchdown. The defense did give up 63 points in the game, and will need to be better with the defense here. SMU is averaging 40.2 points while their defense is giving up 33.7 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is South Florida who sits with a 1-8 record overall and they have gone 3-6 against the spread. In the last game against Temple the defense gave up 54 points, and that led to the defeat. South Florida did score 28 points in the game. Katravis Marsh completed 11 of his 22 passes for 176 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. South Florida is averaging 25.8 points while their defense is giving up 39.9 points per game. The defense is ranked 129th in the league and they really can't get into a shootout here or it will be a long game.
SMU is 5-15 against the spread in their last 20 road games. South Florida is 10-2 against the spread in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record. The home team is 4-1 against the spread in the last five meetings played between the two teams.
SMU is coming off a game where they scored 77 points and they are going to no have no issue running up the score against a South Florida defense that isn’t good. The Bulls are giving up 39.9 points per game. SMU might not score 77 points again in this game, but they are going to have no issue getting the job done. Back SMU against the spread.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
