The good news for the Kansas Jayhawks is that the players will be fresh coming into this Week 5 showdown against Texas Tech Red Raiders after their bye last week. The bad news is that the 1-2 Jayhawks are big underdogs and face an extremely high-powered offense in the Red Raiders.
Kansas is 1-2 so far and has lost two in a row coming into this one, while Texas Tech is looking to build upon a 2-1 start that only includes a loss to an undefeated Arizona State team.
Watch this regular season Week 5 matchup live on Thursday, September 29, 2016, at 5:30 p.m. ET
at Jones AT&T Stadium.
NCAA Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas +28
Texas Tech -28
Odds Analysis
The Red Raiders are heavy home favorites, and the bettors are backing them despite the large spread. Texas Tech is getting wagered on at an 87 percent clip.
There is no over-under listed yet but it’s safe to say it will be extremely high. Texas Tech’s offense is prolific and its defense gives up a lot of points, so expect a shootout.
Key Stat
547.7 -- That’s how many passing yards this Texas Tech team is averaging behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes II. The junior quarterback has completed 92-of-114 passing attempts for 1,493 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Last week, in the 59-45 win over LA Tech, Mahomes threw five touchdowns to three different receivers. Even in the Week 2 loss to Arizona State, the offense was impressive — putting up 55 points with 540 yards through the air.
Player to Watch
Steven Sims, Jr. -- If the Jayhawks can hang around in this one, they will need to score a boatload of points. Sims, Jr. could be in the middle of that. He has 11 catches for 253 yards and four touchdowns already this season and seems likely to reach the end zone again in this one.
Sims, Jr. had more than 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns in each of Kansas’ first two games, but was held to two catches for 15 yards last time out against Memphis.
The whole team was shut down in that one, and the offense needs to get back on track. Sims only had 30 catches for 349 yards all of last season, and there is a chance for him to surpass his yardage total from 2015 in just one game.
Free ATS Pick
Along with leading the nation in passing yards per game, the Red Raider also rank second in the nation for points per game, averaging 61 a game so far. Every game so far has been an offensive shootout for Texas Tech with the defense allowing 43.3 points a game from opponents.
Arizona State dropped 68 on the Red Raiders in their only loss so there is certainly room for improvement on defensive side of the ball.
Kansas started the season with a win, blowing out the University of Rhode Island in Week 1 before falling to Ohio and Memphis in the following weeks. The Jayhawks had time to regroup last week with an off-week, but will need a big performance tonight to pull of the upset.
The Jayhawks’ defense has given up an average of 40 points per game the last two weeks and will now face an offense better than it has seen thus far. Mahomes is a huge task to slow and this does not seem to be a good matchup for them.
However, while Kansas may not have much of a chance in this game, the spread is too high. The Jayhawks can put up enough points to grab the cover in this matchup. Check back to see where the over-under settles before the game.
NCAA Football Odds: Texas Tech 52, Kansas 31
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!
