LA LAFAYETTE vs UTSA
When: 12/26/2020 3:30 PM
Where:

TV: 3:30 PM
LINE: 14
PREDICTION: UTSA , LA LAFAYETTE

Oddsmakers currently have the UTSA listed as 14 point favorites versus the LA LAFAYETTE, while the game’s total is sitting at 56.

Louisiana didn’t get a chance to play for the Sun Belt Conference championship.

The No. 19 Ragin’ Cajuns are trying to prevent that disappointment from adversely affecting their performance against UTSA in the First Responder Bowl on Saturday on the SMU campus in Dallas.

Louisiana (9-1) flew to South Carolina last Thursday to play Coastal Carolina for the Sun Belt title but returned home the next day after the game was canceled due to COVID issues within the Chanticleers’ program.

Both teams were declared co-champions.

“We’ve got to take that anger and frustration and disappointment and move forward and use those things as fuel on the fire to get ready to play,” Cajuns coach Billy Napier said. “We’ve got a very competitive culture here. We’ve got a very competitive group of people.”

The Cajuns opened the season with a 31-14 road victory against No. 10 Iowa State and have the best 10-game record in school history.

They have won the Sun Belt West division and played in a bowl game in each of Napier’s three seasons as head coach. That success led to Napier being a candidate for coaching vacancies at South Carolina and Auburn, but Louisiana announced this week that Napier is staying put.

Louisiana’s defense has forced at least two turnovers in each victory this season. The only time it failed to do that was in a 30-27 home loss to Coastal Carolina on Oct. 14.

The Roadrunners are 7-4 in coach Jeff Traylor’s first season. A victory over the Cajuns would be the first bowl victory for a school that is making just its second appearance in a bowl and it would tie the school-record for wins in a season.

UTSA was originally scheduled to play SMU in the Frisco Bowl, but the Dec. 19 game was canceled due to COVID issues in the Mustangs’ program.

The First Responder Bowl stepped in and invited the Roadrunners, who gladly accepted but had to wait five days to learn that Louisiana would be their opponent.

“What an awesome opportunity,” Traylor said. “I’m just so thrilled for our players, coaches, and staff to be playing in a bowl game.”

The UTSA program is in just its 10th season. The school tied an NCAA modern startup program record by reaching a bowl game in just its sixth season, losing to New Mexico 23-20 in the 2016 New Mexico Bowl.

The Roadrunners finished second in the Conference USA West Division with a 5-2 conference record.

“We’re building something special here,” quarterback Frank Harris said. “Coach Traylor is doing a great job of instilling a culture. We are following it now and seeing the results.”

UTSA set school records for total offense (624 yards) and rushing yards (443) in their last game – a 49-17 victory against North Texas on Nov. 28. It was the second consecutive game that the total offense record was broken.

“I think we finished the (regular) season out in the right way,” said running back Sincere McCormick, who had a record 251 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The post LA LAFAYETTE vs. UTSA 12/26/2020 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

BAYLOR vs UTSA
When: 9/8/2018 3:30 PM
Where:

TV: 3:30 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: UTSA , BAYLOR

Oddsmakers currently have the UTSA listed as point favorites versus the BAYLOR, while the game’s total is sitting at .

The post BAYLOR vs. UTSA 9/8/2018 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

UTSA vs ARIZONA ST
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 1, 2018
Where: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

TV: 10:30 PM
LINE: -18.5
PREDICTION: ARIZONA ST , UTSA

Oddsmakers currently have the ARIZONA ST listed as -18.5 point favorites versus the UTSA, while the game’s total is sitting at 54.

Herm Edwards is set to make his debut as coach at Arizona State when the Sun Devils host Texas-San Antonio on Saturday night, his first time back on the sideline in 10 years. Edwards was the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2006-08, then spent nine years as a studio analyst for ESPN before he was hired by the Sun Devils on Dec. 3.

Edwards inherited a team that returns 14 starters, including quarterback Manny Wilkins and his top two receivers N’Keal Harry and Kyle Williams. Wilkins overcame an injury-filled 2016 season — and the arrival of a high-profile transfer from Alabama who seemed destined to steal his job — to confidently pass for 3,270 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, while also running for another 282 yards and seven scores. Harry figures to benefit the most from Edwards’ pro-style offense and the junior from nearby Chandler, Ariz., should improve on last season’s totals of 82 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns. UTSA will be young and mostly inexperienced on offense, but the Roadrunners hired former Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges to fill the same role and he should bring out the best in that group.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Arizona State -18.5

ABOUT TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (2017: 6-5): The Roadrunners return four starters on offense and six on defense, led by senior defensive lineman Kevin Strong Jr. and junior linebacker Josiah Tauaefa, both preseason All-Conference USA selections. Strong had seven tackles for loss and three sacks for a UTSA defense that led Conference USA in seven categories. Tauaefa set a freshman school record with 115 tackles in 2016 and was named to the C-USA all-freshman team, but he was slowed by a knee injury that caused him to sit out three games last season.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (2017: 7-6): The Sun Devils will be short-handed on defense in their season opener, as senior linebacker Jay Jay Wilson has been suspended for an incident that occurred during a closed practice Aug. 15. Arizona State was already thin at linebacker because Koron Crump, a second-team all Pac-12 pick in 2016, is still not 100 percent after sustaining a season-ending knee injury in the third game last season. Merlin Robertson, who played at Serra High School just outside of Los Angeles last season, is set to become the first true freshman to start at linebacker for the Sun Devils since Vontaze Burfict in 2009.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Arizona State has won its past 19 home openers, tied for the fourth-longest active win streak in the country.

2. Arizona State, North Carolina State and West Virginia are the only FBS teams that return two receivers with at least 60 receptions last year.

3. The warmest temperature the Roadrunners have experienced at kickoff was 92 degrees in the 2013 season opener at New Mexico. Temperatures are expected to be near 100 at kickoff Saturday.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 45, UTSA 17

The post UTSA vs. ARIZONA ST 9/1/2018 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

The game was originally scheduled for Sept. 2 in San Antonio’s Alamodome. The schools had called off that game as the city of Houston was flooded by rains from Harvey, and had hoped to reschedule

The schools announced Wednesday the game won’t be played this season, leaving both with just 11 games on the regular-season schedule. The schools said they will look to reschedule in a future year. The game is part of a four-game series with two home games for each.

Houston plays Saturday at Arizona. UTSA plays Saturday at Baylor.

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