Time: 8 PM EST, Saturday, Sept 15
Spread; LSU -42.5
Total: 54.5
Betting Odds from Bookmaker
LSU
SEC juggernaut LSU has been every bit as good as predicted. Athlon magazine predicted an undefeated season for the Tigers, and so far they’re right on track, after disposing of North Texas and Washington, giving up only 17 points between the two games, while scoring 41 in each game themselves.
Accordingly, the Tigers rank 8th in the nation in points allowed, surrendering only 8.5 points per game. Granted, both opponents haven’t been top-tier schools, and Saturday night’s game against Idaho will be more of the same, before they face Auburn next week.
The reason so far for the dominance has been the ground game. Between junior Alfred Blue and sophomore Kenny Hilliard, the Tigers get 279 rushing yards per game, ranking them 11th in the nation in rushing yardage. Hilliard has scored four TDs already, while Blue has one, but has more total yards (224 vs. 187).
The Tigers are ranked 3rd in the AP poll, but 2nd in the coaches’ poll.
Things will get a little dicier later in the season when they face three (now) nationally ranked teams in a span of four weeks, with No. 1 overall Alabama coming in to Louisiana for an 8 PM showdown on CBS on November 3rd.
Saturday night, though, they will look to take care of business as 42.5 point favorites, according to college football oddsmakers.
IDAHO
The Idaho Vandals are 0-2 and rank near the bottom of the nation in points scored per game (only 8) and at the bottom in rushing yards, with only 39.5 per game. Their passing offense has been OK, but being OK at one facet and horrible at another makes for a horrible team.
They could have won if not for a bad third quarter last week, when they allowed two Bowling Green TDs in the third quarter. Despite losing, junior QB Dominique Blackman had an outstanding game for the Vandals, throwing 30 of 37 passes for completion (81.1%) and averaging 9.5 yards per completion. His QB rating of 164.5 stands out as very respectable on an otherwise horrible Vandals team. Will it be enough to cover the spread against the Tigers? Possibly. But no one expects this Idaho team to come anywhere near taking down the BCS contending LSU squad.
Betting Trends:
Vandals are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 following an SU loss, 10-3 ATS in their last 13 September games, 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 non-conf games, 3-8 ATS in their last 11 after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in a game.
Tigers are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 after allowing less than 275 total yards, 10-1 ATS in their last 11 after allowing less than 170 yards passing, 8-1 ATS in their last 9 following an SU win of more than 20, 10-2 ATS in their last 12 after allowing less than 20 their previous game, and the LSU Tigers are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 games vs teams with losing road records.
Want to crush the bookies? Make sure to check out our paid pick plans for the 2012 season. Our handicapping team has an excellent track record of lining people’s pockets, so get in on the gravy train!
