College Football Predictions: Houston vs. UTEP Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Wednesday, 28 September 2011 06:09

We’ll make predictions on the final score in our college football preview of the Houston vs. UTEP game.

The Houston Cougars (4-0) and the UTEP Miners (2-2) are all set for Thursday night’s 8:00 PM ET Conference USA showdown, and we hope that our predictions will produce a winner.  The Houston vs. UTEP game will be shown live on CBS Sports Network, and you might have to wait until start time to figure out which quarterback the Miners are going to start.

Nick Lamaison (507 yards, 60.9%, 3 TD, 2 INT) started the season as the #1 before injuring his shoulder, while Jay Hall (254 yards, 35.4%, 0 TD, 2 INT) and Carson Meger (244 yards, 65.9%, 2 TD, 3 INT) have filled in.  Lamaison is listed as probable to return against Houston, but UTEP coach Mike Price isn’t naming a starter until right before kickoff.  Lamaison and Meger are conventional-style quarterbacks, while Hall’s rushing ability gives him some flexibility in the offense.

The Cougars took home a 54-24 victory as 20.5-point favorites in Houston last year, while UTEP pulled the 58-41 shocker as 14.5-point underdogs in 2009.  The home team has won 5 of 6 meetings in the Houston vs. UTEP series since 2005, while the last 3 between these rivals have averaged over 65 points combined per game.

UTEP opened the year with a narrow 31-24 home win against Stony Brook before losing 17-28 on the road against SMU.  The Miners won 16-10 against New Mexico State before again falling in last time out in a 24-52 road loss against South Florida.  UTEP’s offense is putting up just 22.0 points per game on 338.8 total yards, but they may find some relief against a Houston defense that allows 172.8 rushing yards a contest.

Houston grabbed a 38-34 win in Texas over UCLA to start the year, and has since defeated North Texas 48-23, Louisiana Tech 35-34, and Georgia State 56-0.  Quarterback Case Keenum (1534 yards, 71.0%, 12 TD, 2 INT) is back in action after missing most of last year with an injury, and he’s been terrific in leading the Cougars to 585.0 total yards and 44.2 points score per game.  UTEP is allowing 191.5 rushing yards per game and seem likely to give up some points on Thursday.

Legends Sportsbook has the Houston vs. UTEP odds favoring the Cougars at -15.5 with a total of 65.  Close to 65% of tracked college football bettors are backing Houston here, yet the point spread has moved down from the opener of -17.  Bet on the Houston vs. UTEP game with these guys and you’ll receive a 25% cash bonus for being our readers.

Houston vs. UTEP predictions are a bit tough to call because of factors that seemingly go beyond what I believe will play out on the field.  It’s generally a horrible idea for a bettor to take a road favorite in general, but even worse so when that road favorite is being bet fairly heavily and the point spread has shifted in the opposite direction.  I don’t go against this situation often, but I honestly feel that Houston can dominate here and win by a large deficit.  UTEP doesn’t have the rushing attack to take advantage of Houston’s defensive weaknesses, and the Cougars should be able to score at will for the entirety of this rout.

Houston vs. UTEP Score Predictions:

Houston 44

UTEP 20