The No. 16 TCU Horned Frogs had a cakewalk of a win last week, and they seem to have another on the way, as they are set to meet the SMU Mustangs, who are coming off a beating at the hands of some team named North Texas Mean Green. This game should serve as warm up for the Horned Frogs for their Week 3 meeting with Ohio State, but they should not be looking that far ahead, as SMU may have a surprise for them.
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Betting Preview for the TCU Horned Frogs vs SMU Mustangs Week 2 College Football Game on Sept. 7 2018
Where: Gerald Ford Stadium, Dallas Texas
When: Friday, September 7, 2018, 8:00 PM ET
Line: TCU Horned Frogs (-22.0) vs SMU Mustangs (+22.0) – view all 2018 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the TCU Horned Frogs (-22.0 / 1-0 Record)
The Horned Frog kicked off their 2018 campaign with a blast, as they overpowered a helpless Southern Jaguars squad at home last week, 55-7.
Horned Frogs quarterback Shawn Robinson had little problem cutting through the Jaguars’ defense, throwing for 182 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-24 completions. TCU kept Southern on it toes all night long, thanks to the Horned Frogs’ relentless backfield that repeatedly found holes to run through. The game ended with TCU rushing for a total of 235 yards and two touchdowns, while limiting the Jaguars to just 101 passing yards and only 84 on the ground. Robinson had 45 rushing yards and two touchdowns to add to his productive day, but the team’s offensive line shouldn’t also be forgotten, as it allowed zero sacks.
Conversely, TCU’s defense should pose lots of trouble for the Mustangs’ quarterback protection unit after the Horned Frogs recorded three sacks against the Jaguars. SMU’s offensive line seems to be weaker than that of Southern, as evidence by the four sacks it allowed to North Texas last week.
The Horned Frogs are 3-1 ATS in their last four games as the road favorite.
Betting on the SMU Mustangs (+22.0 / 0-1 Record)
Unlike TCU, the Mustangs had a forgettable start to their 2018 campaign, as they were blown into smithereens by North Texas last week, 46-23. The Mean Green are far below the strength level of TCU, so the Mustangs may have to start accepting their fate. That being said, they have a large 22-point spread they could cover, which could be a pretty enticing selling point to bet on SMU. In fact, the Mustangs have covered in each of their last six games in which they were underdogs by at least 22 points. That stretch includes their 56-36 loss to TCU last year as a 22.5-point underdog.
Against North Texas, the Mustangs hardly got anything going on offense, with quarterback Ben Hicks completing 12-of-24 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Braeden West had 86 receiving yards and a touchdown and three more receivers had at least 67 receiving yards in the game, so at least SMU knows it has some tools to move the chains through the air.
Hicks, however, had no help from the team’s backfield that coughed up a pathetic total of four yards.
Writer’s Prediction
TCU wins, 44-17.
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