This week's college football action begins Wednesday night with a battle in the MAC as the 1-1 Buffalo Bulls host the 1-1 Kent State Golden Flashes (7 pm ET ESPNU).
Buffalo, which put on a decent showing in its season opener vs. Georgia, is favored by three points over KSU, which is coming off a 47-14 loss to Kentucky.
The Bulls are just 3-8-1 ATS in their past dozen games as a favorite, while the Flashes have lost 7 of 8 SU as a road team.
View Kent State vs Buffalo Odds and Stats.
Betting Line: If you're going with the Bulls in this one, they were listed as 1-point underdogs on the betting line at Sportsbook for the contest, but the line was moving early in the week.
Power Rankings / Prediction: It's a betting matchup between the No. 61-rated Bulls and the No. 113-ranked Golden Flashes, according to the NCAAF Power Rankings here at Odds Shark. Predictive-scoring models run on this game indicate a potential 35-29 result in favor of the Bulls.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Buffalo's No. 25-ranked offense, averaging 39.5 PPG, against a Golden Flashes defense that ranks No. 98 this week at 34 PPG. The Bulls aerial game is averaging 206.5 yards per game, less than the Golden Flashes secondary allows through the air, 300 YPG per game.
Defensively, the Golden Flashes feature the league's No. 62-rated road run defense, allowing 185 yards per game. Buffalo, meanwhile, ranks No. 16 in rushing offense at home.
Kent State lost its last outing, a 47-14 result against Kentucky on September 8. Kent State failed to cover in that game as a 6.5-point underdog, while the 61 combined points took the game OVER the total. Kent State didn’t make much of a game of it last time out, losing to the Wildcats as Kentucky blasted them 47-14 in Week 2 action.
Buffalo was a 56-34 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against Morgan St. There was no line on the game due to the fact a non-board team was involved. Branden Oliver ran through the Morgan St defense for 238 yards in Buffalo's last game, handing the Bears a 56-34 setback on Saturday at UB Stadium.
Kent State Golden Flashes Trends:
When playing in September are 3-7
When playing on turf are 6-4
After being outgained are 4-6
When playing within the conference are 5-5
Buffalo Bulls Trends:
When playing in September are 3-7
When playing on turf are 4-6
After outgaining opponent are 2-8
When playing within the conference are 2-8
A few Golden Flashes at Bulls trends to consider:
Kent State is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kent State's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kent State's last 6 games when playing Buffalo
Kent State is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Buffalo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kent State
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Buffalo's last 6 games when playing Kent State
Buffalo is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games at home
Buffalo is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games at home
Next up:
Kent State home to Ball State, Saturday, September 29
Buffalo at Connecticut, Saturday, September 29
