California’s steamroll over Hawaii marked the official start of college football betting and what a way to kickoff the season. The final score was 51-31 meaning that the NCAA was able to deliver on the shootout the Aussies were promised. Fans Down Under were pleased and now fans in the US can get in on their guilty pleasures as the season continues to roll on. There are plenty of interesting matchups as is always the case in college football, and one of the most promising is the matchup between the UCLA Bruins and the Texas A&M Aggies. UCLA may have a top 25 ranking, but surprisingly enough the top sportsbooks are still favoring the Aggies.
Saturday the 3rd of September
UCLA +3 (-110) 53 (-110) +135
Texas A&M -3 (-110) 53 (-110) -155
The Bruins are coming into this season once again with former NFL coach Jim Mora. Management wise UCLA is pretty much the same team as last year, except for 1st year offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu – uncle of future Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu – who isn’t a new addition to UCLA, but will be taking up the reins on offense. Polamalu is stepping in for Noel Mazzone who, ironically enough, will be lining up opposite Polamalu as first year offensive coordinator for Texas A&M. Perhaps its Mazzone’s inside knowledge of UCLA – he spent 4 years with the organization – that has tipped the college football betting odds in the Aggies favor.
UCLA’s No 16 nationwide ranking shows the expectations that are riding on this team this, but it isn’t unusual for the Bruins to disappoint especially in recent years. Last year UCLA put up a record of 8-5 with a 5-4 record in the Pac-12 which was enough for them to get invited to the Foster Farms Bowl. Unfortunately, they ended up losing that bowl game to Nebraska 29-37. A terrible follow up to the 2014 season that saw the Bruins win all their regular season games. UCLA’s quarterback Josh Rosen is highly regarded around the league but for reasons unknown; last season Rosen threw 11 interceptions, most of which were clearly his fault. The runningback position shows even less promise for the Bruins. Soso Jamabo will be the starting back and he’ll be receiving help from Nate Starks and, unfortunately for the Bruins, neither have ample experience. Defensively the Bruins have more starters returning, but that says more about the holes on offense than it does about the experience of their defense. Last season UCLA struggled tremendously to stop the run and the Aggies will be looking to exploit that weakness.
Myles Garret, the Aggies defensive end, will be looking to take advantage of UCLA’s inexperienced offensive line and he will likely have an explosive start to the season. Texas A&M has seen its share fair of players depart via transfer but this year they are on the receiving end. Trevor Knight, who transferred from Oklahoma, will be lining up under center for the Aggies this season. Knight is a veteran who is used to the spotlight and even though he’s talented enough to do it, he won’t have to carry the bulk on offense. Knight will be joined by fellow former Oklahoma star Keith Ford. Apparently neither player wanted to transfer by their lonesome. The strength of this football team lies at their wide receiver position. They have Christian Kirk, Rickey Seals-Jones, Speedy Noil – who lives up to his name – and Josh Reynolds. The Aggies strength and depth at the receiver position is unrivaled across the nation and was ultimately a big contributor to A&M’s college football betting odds.
