Every now and again, you have to make the play which makes all the sense in the world in spite of the fact that you just know that it is a square play. We might be in that situation on the opening night of the college football season when the TCU Horned Frogs lay a relatively sensible 17 points on the road against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
WHEN TCU HAS THE BALL
Man, these guys are going to be good this year. Trevone Boykin threw for 3,901 yards and 33 TDs, and he rushed for another 707 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and he could be even better now that he is a senior in this offense. It doesn't take a genius to know that Boykin is going to be worth at least 3-4 touchdowns in virtually every game he plays this year, and this isn't going to be an exception.
Keep an eye on Josh Doctson. He has a hand injury which might slow him down just a bit. We aren't overly concerned as to whether he plays or not, knowing that he is listed as probable on the injury report, but do know that he set single-season school records for touchdowns and receptions last season. If Doctson isn't on his game, that could be the one thing which slows down this offense.
Just know that every single time TCU has the ball, it is capable of scoring for live betting purposes, and with so many drives last season taking less than three minutes off of the clock, the Horned Frogs can get from their own 25 to the end zone in a real hurry, too.
Minnesota did "hold" the Horned Frogs to 30 points last year, but it could have been a lot uglier than that. TCU did go just 2-of-12 on third downs, but its 427 total yards of offense suggests that it could have scored in the 40s. The Gophers do have four seniors in their secondary, so turnovers are a possibility, but we still think they are overmatched.
WHEN MINNESOTA HAS THE BALL
The Golden Gophers were terrible on offense last year against TCU, scoring just seven points and turning the ball over five times.
Mitch Leidner is back for another season though, and he shouldn't be turning the ball over quite as much as he did last season.
The problem is that his best target, Maxx Williams is gone. It's going to be tough to stretch the field against a TCU defense which lost its best two players to the NFL Draft in linebacker Paul Dawson and safety Chris Hackett.
Minnesota only threw the ball 29 times last year against TCU, but we expect more this time around, which could promote an over play. A new, hurry-up offense has been installed for the Gophers to try to get the ball in and out of Leidner's hands faster, something which becomes important behind a shaky offensive line. More plays, more points for sure, though if Leidner is going to complete 51.5 percent of his passes like he did last year, we could be talking about more points for TCU, knowing that there are going to be some 30-second three-and-out drives on Minnesota's part.
TREND TO TRACK
TCU just slaughtered teams like this at the end of the year. Minnesota is comparable to teams like Iowa State and Texas out of the Big XII, and if those teams were getting blasted by 38 and 52 points respectively by the Horned Frogs, we can't see a much different result in this game.
When the Horned Frogs have gotten rolling historically, they haven't let up. If their defense is getting off the field in a relative hurry, betting on the visitors and laying the lumber in live betting is certainly the way to go.
The NCAA football betting lines and props were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The TCU Horned Frogs were laying 14-points, while the total first appeared at 58.5. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time odds and player props during the game. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the TCU Horned Frogs and Minnesota Golden Gophers will take place Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 9:00 p.m. ET at TCF Bank Stadium. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN.
