College Football: Washington State Cougars vs Houston Cougars Sports Betting Guide
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Originally opening up as six-point favorites when the lines came out on Sunday, Washington State currently sits at -9 in this battle of the Cougars. This Friday night matchup will be played at a neutral site, NRG Stadium, where the Houston Texans play and just five miles from Houston’s campus. Both of these teams are known for offense and explosive playmakers, and the name of this one might be keeping the other in check. Let’s take a deeper look at this matchup to try and spot the edge.
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Washington State Cougars vs Houston Cougars (at NRG Stadium)
Friday, September 13th, 2019 – 9:15 pm ET
Houston +9, O/U 75.5 (via PointsBet)
Mike Leach and his Washington State offense already appear in mid-season form, scoring 117 points through two games while averaging 9.62 yards per play. Per usual, his passing game is the highlight of this offense, led by redshirt senior Anthony Gordon who has been with the team since 2016 though is seeing his first real action this season. Through his first two starts, Gordon has thrown for 884 yards, nine touchdowns, and just one interception. While certainly impressive, this offensive template Leach has installed earns quarterbacks monster numbers year after year, especially against the opponents the Cougars have faced thus far. After opening up against one of the worst teams in the FBS, New Mexico State, the (Washington State) Cougars then faced FCS Northern Colorado, both at home.
Houston and new head coach Dana Holgerson got the pleasure of starting off their 2019 campaign against College Football Playoff contender Oklahoma on the road in one of the most hostile environments in college football. All things considered, they held their own much of the game and hovered around the spread, ultimately covering by four points. The positive news for the (Houston) Cougars following that Week 1 loss? They won’t see a freak of Jalen Hurts’ nature for the rest of the season. In their Week 1 loss, Hurts accounted for six touchdowns and 508 total yards of offense.
Bottom Line?
Houston quarterback D’Eriq King was a preseason darkhorse Heisman hopeful and has yet to have the breakout performance he did so often in 2018. After predictably struggling against the Sooners, he looked uncharacteristically average against Prairie View A&M at home last weekend in Houston’s home opener. In King’s mind, he is a big stage guy, and I think this stand-alone Friday night game on ESPN gets him mentally to a place that we see shades of 2018. In Houston’s three games at NRG Stadium, they are 3-0 including an upset win against Oklahoma in 2016 as 12-point underdogs. Also in Houston’s favor, Holgerson coached under Leach in their Texas Tech days and should have an insider’s point of view on some of the intricacies of his high-flying offense. Lastly, looking back over their last 13 games on neutral fields, Washington State is just 1-12 ATS against non-ranked opponents.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.