College Football Betting Preview: Troy at Arkansas State

Sep 11, 2013

Week Three of the 2013 college football season officially starts on Thursday as Troy travels to Jonesboro, Arkansas to take on the Red Wolves.  Pro Edge Sports has spent the last few days gathering data on this game, and below you will find an extensive analysis of both Troy and Arkansas State.

College Football Betting Preview: Troy at Arkansas State

Fundamental Analysis

  • Troy is 0.3 yards per play worse than average offensively (7.1 yards per play against teams that combine to allow 7.4 yards per play) and 0.7 yards per play worse than average defensively (5.2 yards per play to teams that combine to average 4.5 yards per play;
  • Arkansas State is 0.1 yards per play better than average offensively (7.3 yards per play against teams that combine to allow 7.2 yards per play) and 0.2 yards per play worse than average defensively (5.0 yards per play to teams that average 4.8 yards per play);
  • Troy’s ground attack is mediocre at best as the Trojans are averaging 5.4 yards per rush attempt against teams that combine to allow 5.4 yards per rush play;
  • The Red Wolves ground game is 0.4 yards per rush attempt worse than average (6.9 yards per carry against teams that combine to allow 7.3 yards per rush attempt)

Technical Analysis

  • Arkansas State is 20-8 ATS over the last three seasons;
  • Arkansas State is 16-6 ATS as favorites over the last three seasons;
  • Arkansas State is 11-1 SU and 8-3 ATS at home over the last two seasons;
  • Arkansas State is 1-10 ATS after allowing 35 or more points in its previous game;
  • Troy is 7-1 SU and ATS in its last eight conference road openers

Situational Analysis

  • The Red Wolves are coming off a disappointing and emotional 38-9 loss to Auburn and their former coach, Gus Malzahn;
  • The Trojans are coming off a relatively easy 66-3 win over Savannah State and will be more than prepared (and rested) for this game;
  • Both teams are playing on a short week, but the scheduling benefits Troy the most based upon the Trojans “scrimmage” last week

As stated in a previous blog article, a respected betting group made a strong move on Troy at +10.5 points.  While the point spread has dropped to +8, the experts at Pro Edge Sports Picks still side with the road underdog as the straight-up winner in this series is 8-1 ATS.