UTSA vs. Texas A&M Football Betting Preview
Where: McLane Stadium, Waco, TX
When: Saturday, November 19, 12:00 PM ET
Line: UTSA Roadrunners (+27.5) at Texas A&M Aggies (-27.5); total: 57.5 – view all NCAA Football odds and lines
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Betting on the UTSA Roadrunners (+27.5)
The UTSA Roadrunners blew their best chance of upending their rivals from the West Division of Conference USA this past Saturday as they were ravaged by the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 63-35.
There’s total dysfunction in UTSA’s quarterback position now. Dalton Sturm started the game against the Bulldogs and ended up with just 100 passing yards on 12-of-22 passing. Sturm’s backup in Jared Johnson took over for his embattled peer, but didn’t really do enough to change the outcome of the rout. Johnson completed just eight of 17 passes for 77 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
If the Roadrunners are still undecided as for who will start this Saturday’s contest, they should still be aware that they have a terrific running back in Jarveon Williams to carry the load for the offense. Williams had 18 carries for 95 rushing yards and a pair of TDs against Louisiana Tech, and he could even possibly torch a Texas A&M defense that’s giving up nearly 193 rushing yards to their opponents this season.
Then again, if the boys from San Antonio couldn’t contain a more talented team in the Bulldogs from their own mid-major conference, how much more could they withstand a ranked opponent from the mighty SEC? The Aggies will be the Roadrunners’ first top-25 opponent this season, and they’ll be in for another major beat-down for sure if they don’t fix their quarterback dilemma before Saturday.
Betting on the Texas A&M Aggies (-27.5)
Are the No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies in for a free-fall from bowl-game contention? They we’re stunned at home by the Ole Miss Rebels last Saturday, 29-28, falling to 7-3 for the season after surrendering 23 points to the Rebels in the fourth quarter alone.
And just like their opponents in Week 12, the Aggies have a big problem at quarterback. Jake Hubenak – in his first official start for the injured Trevor Knight (shoulder) – did not appear to be in good shape on Saturday to lead his team’s offense for the rest of the season. Hubenak finished with good-but-not-great numbers of 213 passing yards along with a couple of touchdowns and one pick. The senior QB was definitely outplayed by Ole Miss’ freshman quarterback, Shea Patterson, who torched TAMU for 338 yards and two TDs of his own.
Hubenak, by the way, also had over 200 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception the week before against Mississippi State. However, he took also 10 fewer attempts to reach those numbers in Week 10, so last Saturday’s game can definitely be considered a step back from his supposed progress as the team’s new play-caller.
Continuing the parallelism with UTSA even further, the Aggies really should’ve leaned more on the run game against the Rebels as well. They are averaging a little over 220 rushing yards per game this season, yet they only gained 129 yards on the ground in Saturday’s loss. Freshman running back Trayveon Williams’ talent is too hard to ignore (six TDs, three 100-yard rushing games this season), and his team must realize that the running game is its best hopes of moving on after Knight’s untimely injury.
Nevertheless, Texas A&M is still the superior program from top to bottom talent-wise compared to UTSA. The Aggies will also welcome a visiting mid-major opponent to take a breather from the stiff competition with the rest of the “Power Five” programs. Prior to last Saturday’s gut-wrenching defeat, they were undefeated at McLane Stadium for six-consecutive games (albeit just 3-3 ATS) by an average margin of 47-19 within that span.
Writer’s Prediction
The Aggies win in a blowout, 41-23, but it isn’t enough to cover the Roadrunners’ huge +27.5 spread as underdogs.
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