Lamar Jackson continues to make the Louisville Cardinals a very dangerous team. Although he isn’t getting much love for the Heisman Trophy after winning it last year, Jackson has kept on torching defenses as a dual-threat quarterback. Louisville doesn’t have a chance to win the ACC Atlantic anymore after losses to North Carolina State and Clemson, but the Cardinals do have a legitimate chance to run the table the rest of the way. First up, are the Boston College Eagles.
This matchup in Week 7 of the regular season will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2017, at 12:20 p.m. ET at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. This game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Boston College +19.5
Louisville -19.5
Odds Analysis
Boston College might have the worst offense out of any Power Five team in the country. The Eagles have not topped 28 points all season and the most they have scored against any conference foe was 10 points. Unsurprisingly, the Eagles are winless in conference play.
Under has been a great bet in Boston College games this season. Although the offense is abysmal, the defense has held its own, and that has led to under cashing in five of its six games. The Eagles have been better ATS recently too, covering three straight after starting the year 0-3 ATS.
Louisville has yet to pick up a signature win this season. The Cardinals are 4-2 on the year, but their best win so far came against a 3-2 Purdue team. They have not been able to cover large spreads all year, sitting at just 1-5 ATS. Even the one win might have been a loss too if you got a bad number, as they beat North Carolina by 12 as an 11.5-point favorite.
Matchup to Watch
Boston College has not been able to move the ball at all on offense this year. The Eagles are in the bottom ten in points per game, and a large reason for that is their total inability to throw the football.
They rank in the bottom twenty in the country in passing yards per game, but that only tells part of the story. Quarterback Anthony Brown has not been able to consistently move the ball with his arm. He has been unable to find targets downfield and is averaging just 4.7 yards per pass attempt.
That’s good news for Louisville’s defense. The Cardinals have had a tough time against the pass this season, and are giving up 238.7 yards per game through the air. Some of that is a reflection of their competition, but they have been much better on the ground than through the air. That bodes very well for them against Boston College.
Player to Watch
Jackson makes this offense one of the best in the NCAA. The Cardinals are averaging 557.8 yards per game this season, and he is the major reason why. He has become a more mature passer since coming back to school, but still has the ability to take off and make things happen with his legs too.
The offense is Jackson centric, but he has shown he can handle the load. He did so last year and was named the best player in college football, and continues to fill the stat sheet.
Free ATS Pick
There is a case to be made for Boston College to cover. The Eagles are solid enough on defense to keep it close, and limited Clemson’s offense until the fourth quarter just a few weeks ago.
However, this feels like a chance for Louisville to make a statement game after another disappointing outing against a ranked team last week. The Cardinals need to put a whooping on someone, and that may as well be a downtrodden Eagles team.
College Football Odds: Louisville 45, Boston College 13
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