No. 25 TCU Horned Frogs (-2) at Air Force Falcons, Total 49 |
It’s been a very long time since the TCU Horned Frogs were handed a loss, let alone giving up 50 points defensively, but it happened last week in a 50-48 road defeat against the Baylor Bears.
After the game, Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson said he “chickened out” on calling an onside kick after his team took a 48-47 lead with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter. “I should have done it,” Patterson commented. “We thought we could stop them one more time and we didn’t do it.”
TCU has still won 27 of its last 29 games, but saw its nation’s best 25-game regular season winning streak snapped, as well as the nation’s longest winning streak.
The defense was torched in the opener, giving up 564 yards of total offense to the Baylor Bears, which was quite a contrast from leading the nation in the category for three consecutive years.
TCU holds a 7-2-1 lead over Air Force in a series that began in 1959, including a 2-2 mark in Colorado Springs.
Patterson is fielding a very young team this year that may still need a couple games to return to its dominating ways, as six true freshman played in Waco, which is the most during his 11-year tenure.
The Horned Frogs tallied a 38-7 home win in last year’s meeting as 18.5-point favorites and the game went under the posted total of 50.5.
college football betting players will find that the home team is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings.
Air Force will enter this game confidently in knowing that the last two games played inside Falcon Stadium in this series have been decided by six points, as each team has tallied a 20-17 win.
The Falcons have posted a 6-2 record in Mountain West home games the last two seasons under the direction of current head coach Troy Calhoun. The team is 4-1 ATS as a home underdog.
If wanting to pull off the minor upset, Air Force must stiffen up on defense, allowing 562 total yards in last year’s loss. The team managed to gain just 231 total yards and quarterback Tim Jefferson rushed for just 39 yards and threw for another 47.
The program is 16-69-4 all-time against ranked teams, including a 1-3 record last year.
Bettor will likely side with the Falcons due to their 16-9 ATS mark versus lined competition, while the Horned Frogs are 1-5 ATS in their last six games after scoring 40 or more points.
