Houston Cougars vs UTSA Roadrunners Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/03/2022

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 3, 2022

Venue:  Alamodome, San Antonio, TX

Where to Watch:  CBS Sports

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Houston -4, UTSA +4; Over/Under:  61.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Houston -4, UTSA +4; Over/Under:  61.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Houston -4, UTSA +4; Over/Under:  61.5 points

 

Houston Cougars:  0-0 (AAC)

UTSA Roadrunners:  0-0 (C-USA West)

 

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Houston Cougars:  N/A

UTSA Roadrunners:  N/A

 

Houston is playing their season opener here on Saturday and this will also be their first road game of the college football season. They finished last season with a 12-2 record overall and were 6-1 in their road games. They were also 8-0 in their conference games and finished 2nd place in the AAC. They ended their season with a 17-13 win against the Auburn Tigers in the Birmingham Bowl. Their offense was averaging 414.9 YPG and 35.9 PPG while their defense was allowing 301.5 YPG and 20.4 PPG against them. Clayton Tune led the team in passing with 3,544 passing yards, Alton McCaskill led the team in rushing with 961 rushing yards, and Nathaniel Dell led the team in receiving with 1,329 receiving yards. 

 

 

 

UTSA is playing their season opener here on Saturday and this will also be their first home game on the college football schedule this season. They finished last season with a 12-2 record overall and were 7-0 in their home games. They were also 7-1 against conference opponents and finished in 1st place in the C-USA West. They ended their season with a 38-24 loss against the San Diego State Aztecs in the Frisco Bowl. Their offense was averaging 440.9 YPG and 36.9 PPG while their defense was allowing 373.4 YPG and 24.6 PPG against them. Frank Harris led the team in passing with 3,177 passing yards, Sincere McCormick led the team in rushing with 1,479 rushing yards, and Zakhari Franklin led the team in receiving with 1,027 receiving yards. 

The current betting odds have Houston listed as a 4 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Houston had a very good season last year as they were one of the better teams in their conference but they finished 2nd place to Cincinnati and likely have that still on their minds this season. Cincinnati lost their starting QB to the NFL draft though, and with them not being as big a threat in this conference anymore, it leaves room for Houston to take over and be the dominant team again which is what they will be focused on this entire season. They even have a lot of their production returning from last season and should take steps to continue improving as a team this year. UTSA also had a very good season last year, coming off a historic season for their program, but it will be hard for them to top what they did last season. They also have a lot of returning players from last season that will try to build on what they did last year but, this Houston program is a lot better and they will be hungry to take back their conference this season, starting with this game. The best way to place a bet here is on Houston to cover the spread in this game.

 

Houston UTSA Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 3, 2022 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Houston 35 UTSA 20.

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Houston Cougars: 11-21 ATS as a road favorite of 7 points or less. 19-27 ATS in the first two weeks of the season. 32-15 UNDER as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points.

UTSA Roadrunners: 9-3 ATS as an underdog. 12-7 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points. 9-4 UNDER in home games.

 

 

Houston Cougars:  A. McCaskill IV (RB) out for season - Knee.

UTSA Roadrunners:  D. Lewis (RB) out for season - Leg.

 

 

“I am trying to get our guys to get really focus on what we need to do to get better each and every day. We put an ‘X’ over last year. We put an ‘X’ over the preseason polls. We put an ‘X’ over all the hype and where we’re picked to finish in the conference... Where you’re ranked doesn’t really matter in the preseason. It’s where you finish, but you can’t really finish if you don’t start well.” - Doug Belk on the team’s mindset coming into this season.

 

 

“We just hope the momentum continues and we can stack another great year. We’ve had two great years in a row—let’s go get a third one.” - Jeff Traylor on his hopes for the team this season.

 

 

 

WR Brown, Samuel

WR Golden, Matthew 

WR Carter, KeSean

WR Dell, Nathaniel 

TE Trahan, Christian 

QB Tune, Clayton

RB Henry, Ta'Zhawn 

 

WR Clark, De'Corian

WR Franklin, Zakhari

WR Cephus, Joshua 

TE Cardenas, Oscar

QB Harris, Frank

RB Smith, Trelon 

 

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Coaches:

Houston Cougars: Dana Holgorsen (4th season)

UTSA Roadrunners: Jeff Traylor (3rd season)