So, for this game... will the Bears live up to the hype, and continue their quest for a Big-12 Title, or will the Warhawks continue upsetting big time college teams from big conferences? Will it be a shootout, or a defensive game?
NCAAF: Baylor
vs. Louisiana-Monroe - total pick
Totals
are out for Week 3 of the college football season, and that includes the Friday
game between the Bears and Warhawks. College football odds have the total at 68
½ points, and with the amount of points that the Bears have scored so far this
season, the total is warranted.
Baylor
has scored 59 and 48 points in each of their first two games this season, but
they now meet the toughest defense and team overall that they have faced all
season. Louisiana-Monroe has been able to score points as well, especially in
their Week 1 upset of then #8 Arkansas.
LA-Monroe outlook
After
the joy of beating a top ten team ran out, the Warhawks were just a bit too
hung over last week to keep the momentum going. A shocking and thrilling defeat
of Arkansas, the Warhawks weren’t able to come back all the way against Auburn.
The
Warhawks are in arguably one of the most competitive conferences in the
country, and they will need all the wins they can get in order to compete for a
Sun Belt title. Seven of the 12 teams in the Sun Belt have bowl appearances in
their past, and there have been nine different conference winners or co-winners
in the last decade. LA-Monroe is included, as they were co-winners in 2005.
Baylor Bears
So far
this season, the Bears rank 9th in the nation in passing yards, as
they have thrown for an average of over 350 pass yards per game. They also rank
6th in the country so far in points scored, as they have averaged
53.5 points per game so far this year.
This is
the start of a rough stretch for the Baylor Bears. After visiting a tough UL-Monroe team, they have a stretch of seven games over the next seven weeks,
five of which are against current Top 25 teams. After going to UL-Monroe, the
Bears travel to #8 West Virginia, then welcome in #17 TCU, and then go on to
play #12 Texas after that.
Needless
to say, the Bears are going to need a win in this game, because their schedule
after this week gets rough in a hurry.
The Sharp Pick
The over
has cashed in four of the last five road games for Baylor, and the total has
also gone over six of the Warhawks’ last eight games. All games played by both
these teams this season have gone over the total.
It is evident
that the Bears have a highly prolific offense. Despite losing Robert Griffin
III to the NFL, the Bears haven’t missed a beat under Nick Florence. The Bears’
ability to march down the field through the air is still one of the best in the
country.
On the
Warhawks’ side, their defense is good, and their offense is good, so it will be
interesting to see which side of the ball plays better against the Bears.
Odds wise, I think the over is the way to go. Both of these teams have the ability
to score 30 points a piece without much trouble, so one or both of them going
into the 40-point range is likely. I’m on the over.
College Football Pick: OVER 68 ½