Cinderella's slipper fell off the BYU Cougars last week when they couldn't hold a lead on the road against UCLA.
That said, we think they have proven they are legit heading into a road test against the Michigan Wolverines.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Michigan is favored in this game, but it surely isn't convincing at -5.5. The Cougars are still one of the hottest ATS teams in America at 3-0 this year, and no matter what you think of their Hail Mary wins over Nebraska and Boise State, they still deserved covers in all three of their games played to date.
Big Blue enters this game with just one cover in three games thus far in Jim Harbaugh's first year on the job in Ann Arbor.
KEY MISMATCH
BYU has played three really strong foes to start off the season, and we think we've found the weakness of this club on the defensive side of the ball. There are just times when this front seven is overpowered, albeit not nearly on every play. There are times when the Cougs really look good up front and have stopped the run well.
That said, Paul Perkins and Nate Starks rumbled for 299 yards on 33 carries between them last week for UCLA.
This really is just a stylistic problem for the Cougars against Michigan. The Wolverines are clearly going back to basics, as they are getting away from the tricky passing game and are lining up to run the ball as much as they can. De'Veon Smith and Ty Isaac have quietly combined for 367 rushing yards in three games.
It's not the stats that are going to be dominating here for the Wolverines, but if their quantity of rushing attempts remains higher than the number of passes which Jake Rudock has, that's a good sign for the hosts.
KEY STAT
7 – The number of interceptions which the Cougars already have this season. For as bad as their front seven has been at times, they are still forcing turnovers at an insanely high – and arguably unsustainable – rate.
Rudock, a man who has already thrown 23 picks in his collegiate career, five of which have come in three games this year, needs to be careful for sure.
BETTING ANGLE
It's been all about the under for Michigan. The team has played three straight unders to start off this season under Harbaugh, and it's now 5-0 for under backers dating back to the end of last year.
There's more fuel, too. The Wolverines' last six non-conference games have all stayed under the total, and many of them haven't even come close to the number.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The oddsmakers feel like they are going to catch up with the total in this game, but they still don't feel like they have caught up with BYU. A week after lining it at +16.5 against UCLA, a game which it should have won, it maybe should have been favored in this game, too.
The Wolverines just feel like they aren't quite there yet, and if they struggled mightily against Utah, we think they are going to have the same sort of problems in a similar game against the miracle worker, Tanner Mangum and the Cougars.
We'll be reminded of those problems, particularly on the offensive side of the ball on Saturday afternoon.
BYU 27, Michigan 20
BookMaker opened the spread for this Saturday game at -5 in favor of the Michigan Wolverines. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on your television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The game between the BYU Cougars and the Michigan Wolverines will go down Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. ET at Michigan Stadium. The matchup will be televised on ABC.
