Connecticut Huskies vs Fresno State Bulldogs Odds & Game Pick (2021)

Aug 25, 2021 - 10:06 AM

The UConn Huskies will be playing their first college football game since 2019. Since then, the university has become an independent in college football and has a ton of question marks surrounding their program. Meanwhile, Fresno State dominated offensively last year but has a couple of hiccups defensively. In one of the first college football games of the year, we’ve got a best bet to share.

Bet $20, Win $100 if Fresno State Wins or Loses Against UConn >>

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Details

• Opening Lines: Fresno State -25.5; O/U 62.5
• Current ATS Line: Fresno State -27.5
• Current Over/Under: 62.5
• Location: Bulldog Stadium (CA) – Fresno, CA
• Date: Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021
• Start Time: 2 p.m. EST
• Television: CBSN
• Last Meeting: This will be the first meeting between Connecticut and Fresno State.

Overview

The Connecticut Huskies opted out of the 2020 season, and that should tell you all you need to know about the program. Starting in August of 2020, the Huskies became independent in college football. Without watching UConn last season, we will have to make a couple more assumptions on this team. In comparison, most other teams, especially at UConn’s level, will be returning a ton of players. The experience that UConn didn’t get could bite them, especially early this season.

If anything, UConn should have a reliable running game behind Kevin Mensah. But there are too many question marks when it comes to that UConn offensive line. The thing is, Fresno State wasn’t all that great defensively against the run. There’s serious potential for the Huskies to have success running the football.

Last year, Fresno State went 3-3 and lost their final two games of the season. The Bulldogs only saw six games of action thanks to a shortened season due to COVID. Still, the defense should improve with the addition of a couple of transfers like Tyson Maeva, who recently played for Boise State.

Of course, Fresno State’s offense was pure gold last season behind Jake Haener, who threw for over 2,000 yards in just six games last season. He completed 64.7 percent of his completions and scored 14 touchdowns in just six games. However, he also took 24 sacks in those six games.

Trends

1. Huskies are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games in August.
2. Huskies are 4-22-1 ATS in their last 27 games on FieldTurf.
3. Bulldogs are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games.

Line Movement  

*Line movement analysis based on the DonBest Las Vegas betting market ticker*

Fresno State started at 25.5 point favorites but has now jumped to 27.5 point favorites. There’s plenty of optimism behind this Fresno State offense, with 63 percent of the bets on Fresno State against the spread.

On the other hand, the total hasn’t moved since starting at 62.5.

Prediction

As of August 23, UConn hasn’t named a starting quarterback, although the first depth chart of the season was released. It looks as though sophomore Jack Zergiotis will be the man under center. He’s got the most experience on the roster and has played 10 collegiate games. This team is returning a bunch of players from the 2019 team, so if there’s any doubt on the cohesion between this team, that could be put to bed.

At this point, the secondary for UConn looks bad, with plenty of guys with no experience getting the start in the secondary. This is where Fresno State unloads against a very poor UConn secondary. We talked about Haener and what he’s capable of as a quarterback. The man threw for over 2,000 yards in just six games and scored 14 touchdowns. The offensive line will need to do a better job giving Haener more time in the pocket, but UConn really isn’t a huge threat when it comes to pass rushing. They’re also not a big threat in the run game, and that’s another area where Fresno State can excel against UConn.

Still, asking for any team to win by four touchdowns is asking for too much. UConn can get a backdoor cover or never allow the game to get bad. After all, we don’t know enough about this squad, and. 27.5 points are just too many. I think Fresno State scores all game, but I also think UConn will be a bit sneaky offensively.

Pick: Over 62.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.

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