Louisiana Tech and North Texas battle it out at Apogee Stadium on Saturday night. The Mean Green have been smoking red hot on the offensive end, but their defense has been underrated over their impressive start. The Bulldogs kept close with LSU, but faltered at the end.
Hardy impresses against LSU with 181 yards, 2 TDs
Louisiana Tech has covered in their last two games, and they just pulled it off against LSU, falling 38-21 when they were 19-point underdogs. It was much closer than the final score indicated. Even though they were down 24-0 midway through the second quarter, they got a touchdown before halftime and tacked on two more scores to keep the game interesting. They actually had more total yards (417 to 409) than the highly-favored home team.
The Bulldogs excel in the passing game, much like their opponent in this matchup, with 322 yards per game (14th nationally). Sophomore receiver Adrian Hardy has seen the bulk of the action, and he grows with every game. He had 10 catches for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns against LSU alone, an impressive feat against that vaunted defense.
Mean Green average a +33 point differential
How impressive has North Texas been this season? They’re averaging 510.8 yards over their first four games of the season, 17th-best in the country. Sure, the schedule is mostly soft, but they did blow out Arkansas on the road and blasted SMU at home in their opener. They average a whopping 48.8 points per game, but what might be more impressive is holding teams to just 15.8 points per game (ranked 18th nationally).
Most of the action is coming in the air, and quarterback Mason Fine has already tallied 1,328 yards with a ratio of 10 touchdowns to just 1 pick. He’s spread the wealth to three different receivers that have over 240 yards each. The high man is Rico Bussey Jr., who has team highs in all categories with 24 catches, 303 yards, and 5 touchdowns.
Notable Trends
North Texas
- 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in September
- 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games on fieldturf
Louisiana Tech
- Over is 4-0 in their last 4 games after a SU loss
- Over is 4-1 in their last 5 road games
The Bottom Line What to bet on this game.
Full-Game Side Bet
Sportsbooks are giving the Bulldogs a lot of respect in this game — North Texas has a massive point differential on the season yet are just touchdown favorites. Considering this team’s threat in the air, it’s hard to go against the favorites here.
Prediction: North Texas -7.5
Full-Game Total Pick
As crazy as it sounds, North Texas’ great offense has still netted them with four straight unders — the defense has been stopping every opponent! Since Louisiana Tech has shown the ability to never give up in a game, though, so they should get a good amount of points on the board.
Prediction: Over 65