Time: 7:30 PM EST, Thursday
Spread: ARK -2
Total: 57.5
M/L: ARK -130, FLA +110
Betting Odds from Bookmaker
Florida International
The 1-4 Golden Panthers have dropped three straight since beating Akron in week 2. Losses to in-state rival UCF, then No. 20 Louisville, and Louisiana-Layfayette, have set the Panthers back, and the opening night 46-26 loss to Duke was embarrassing, too.
Last week, they lost by four TDs to Louisiana-Layfayette, as they allowed LA-Lay to jump out to a 24-0 lead and even after matching scores with them the rest of the way, it never got close.
Freshman QB E.J. Hilliard performed OK in his second game of the season, throwing 16 of 26 for 204 yards, but he threw two interceptions and failed to throw any TDs, giving him a QB rating of 112.1, which was far down from his performance in the narrow loss to ranked Louisville, though in that game he threw only 10 passes and didn’t play anywhere near as much. Hilliard could help the Panthers get back on track, as they are only slight underdogs to the Red Wolves in this Thursday night showdown.
Golden Panthers Betting Trends:
Fla Int’l is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 following an SU loss of 20+ and 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 following an ATS loss. They are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 in October and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 following a game in which they gave up 40+ points.
Arkansas State
The Red Wolves have gone 2-3 in this young season, with victories over Memphis and Alcorn State, and the three losses coming to then No. 5 Oregon, Nebraska, and Western Kentucky.
Their best performance came in the 56-0 pouncing of Alcorn State in week 4.
Last week’s 26-13 loss to Western Ky was a disappointment. Senior QB Ryan Aplin had his worst performance of the year (if you throw out the loss to Nebraska), going only 23 of 40, for 204 yards. He threw no TDs but did record an interception, finishing with a QB rating of 95.3.
For the season, his rating is 129.2, but he has been sacked 7 times in the 5 games, and has thrown two interceptions thus far. His completion ratio is about on par with what it has been for his career as a Red Wolf, at 60.8 percent. Improvement hasn’t come for Aplin, but he’s been pretty good nonetheless in his final year.
Red Wolves Betting Trends:
Red Wolves are 6-1 ATS vs teams with losing records, 6-1 ATS in their last 7 in October, and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 conference games. They are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games on Thursday.
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