Louisiana Tech vs BYU Pick – College Football Week 5

By Willie Bee Sep 30, 2020

Odds.com’s Louisiana Tech vs BYU Pick – College Football Week 5: A first-time meeting takes place under the Friday night lights in Provo where the No. 22 BYU Cougars are heavily favored at home against Louisiana Tech.

It’s not often that we see ranked teams playing on Friday nights. Then again, with some of the crazy happenings in the latest polls, should we even be concerned with rankings at this point in 2020? Kalani Sitake and the BYU Cougars might tell you they deserve to be higher than No. 22 in both polls as they prepare to host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Set for kickoff a little past 9 p.m. (ET) in Provo, ESPN2 will provide the telecast from LaVell Edwards Stadium where two unbeaten teams, straight up and against the spread, go at it. FanDuel certainly likes BYU’s chances to remain undefeated with the Cougars favored by 23½, that number climbing since initially being introduced. Friday’s scoreboard target is 56½.

Can La Tech Cover For A 3rd Time?

After having its season opener against Baylor canceled for virus-related reasons, Louisiana Tech has put up a pair of wins to begin the season. The Bulldogs first eked out a late 31-30 win on the road at Southern Miss in a Conference USA affair, then routed Houston Baptist this past week by a 66-38 count. It’s only the second time in the last eight seasons that Louisiana Tech has started 2-0.

The win at Southern Miss as a touchdown underdog was impressive for rallying from a 17-point deficit midway through the third quarter. Senior QB Luke Anthony came on in relief of Aaron Allen, and threw three touchdowns to lead the comeback, going 13-for-21 for 149 yards through the air. Anthony more than doubled that yardage in the win over Houston Baptist, throwing for 314 yards and five more touchdowns. The Bulldogs also ran for more than 180 yards, Justin Henderson carrying 11 times for 77 yards and a score.

Louisiana Tech’s defense never really solved the HBU attack behind senior QB Bailey Zappe. In fact, if not for the Huskies shooting themselves in the foot with 16 penalties for nearly 150 yards, it may have been a different outcome. The Bulldogs did manage to cover the 23½-point spread against Houston Baptist, but a leaky pass defense that ranks 63rd (out of 72) in the nation is behind both of their games going ‘over’ the college football odds.

Wilson Directing Potent BYU Offense

This season was meant to see Sitake and the Cougars play one of the toughest schedules in the country. Instead, BYU has had to scramble to find opponents to fill its schedule, and this game might eventually prove to be the toughest opponent other than maybe the Houston Cougars in a couple of weeks.

Brigham Young has simply overmatched its first two foes while covering the NCAAF odds each time, annihilating Navy by a 55-3 count in the opener at Annapolis, and stomping Troy last week 48-7 at home. In between, the Cougars also had a game with Army canceled. Zach Wilson starred in both wins, and currently has the second-best quarterback rating (216.6) among those who have played at least two games. The junior threw for a career-best 392 yards in the rout of Troy, throwing for two touchdowns and adding another pair on the ground. The Cougars are second in the country averaging 51.6 PPG and fourth in total offense (622 ypg).

Sitake’s defense is even better. The Cougars are allowing just 165 YPG, tops in the country, and also lead the nation in pass defense (192 total yards). That last number is due in large part to Navy attempting just eight passes in its triple-option attack. The stop unit will have to make it work without Chaz Ah You for the rest of the season, the talented DB/LB lost for the season due to surgery for what BYU is calling “a preexisting (leg) injury.”

Teams Meeting For The 1st Time

Friday marks the first time the two programs have met on the gridiron, and it wasn’t even supposed to take place originally before COVID-19 changed everything. The Cougars were left scrambling for teams to play when all six of their matchups against Power 5 schools were canceled, and they were to have played Utah State on this weekend.
Louisiana Tech’s last trip to the Beehive State was in 2011 as a member of the WAC, the Bulldogs posting a 24-17 win over Utah State in Logan. The last time BYU took on a team in the current Conference USA was 2014 when the Cougars downed Middle Tennessee State in Provo.

La Tech vs BYU Pick

The weatherman tells us to expect a beautiful autumn evening in Provo, clear skies, and temps in the mid-60s at kickoff before dropping into the 50s as the game progresses. This is a definite step up in competition for both teams, most notably for BYU’s defense. I fully expect Wilson to guide the Cougars offense to 40+ on the scoreboard and will make my college football pick on the home team.

The Best Current Price on BYU ATS is at -23 (-115) via BetRivers