Auburn vs. Kansas State Betting Line

Written by:
Carrie Stroup
Published on:
Sep/18/2014
Auburn vs. Kansas State Betting Line

Carrie Stroup here with your Auburn vs. Kansas State betting line.  Place your 1st bet here and get your 2nd bet for FREE.

Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Auburn -7.5 & 64.5

Opening Line & Total: Tigers -10 & 66

No. 5 Auburn travels to No. 20 Kansas State for a Thursday night showdown as each program attempts to stay undefeated through three games.

The Tigers have opened the season in usual fashion, dominating over their first two contests as they have outscored their opponents 104-34. Their top-10 rushing attack went for an amazing 358 yards (7.2 YPC) in the 59-13 victory over San Jose State as strong 34-point favorites in their last contest. Overall in the first two games, Auburn has scored 12 offensive touchdowns with nine of them coming on the ground. Kansas State has not been quite as dominant in its two victories, but also favors running the ball over passing, ranking 32nd in the nation at 236.0 rushing YPG. Most recently, the Wildcats pulled out a tight game as 12-point favorites at Iowa State, shutting them out in the second half (12-0) and finishing with a 32-28 win. A score with 68 seconds left was the winning moment as they outgained their opponent 471-319, which included 232 yards (5.7 YPC) on the ground. These programs have not met since 2007 when Auburn hosted the Wildcats and held serve in its home stadium with a 23-13 victory, but failing to cover the 13.5-point spread. This year’s contest will prove much different since the two teams combined for just 89 yards of rushing and five turnovers in that meeting seven years ago. Bettors should take notice that the Tigers are an amazing 14-2 ATS in all lined games over the past two seasons, while Kansas State is 65-34 ATS (66%) after a game where it forced one or fewer turnovers since 1992. Auburn star WR Sammie Coates (knee) is the big injury to watch for in this contest, but he is considered probable to play on Thursday. 

Despite losing stud HB Tre Mason to the NFL, the Tigers have maintained a tremendous ground game that ranks 7th in the FBS with 330 rushing YPG, and they have totaled 544 YPG (16th in nation) and 52.0 PPG (7th in FBS). QB Nick Marshall (151 yards, 1 TD) missed the first half of the opening contest due to suspension and has connected on 56% of his attempts while averaging a meager 6.0 YPA through the air over six quarters since. What he fails to do through the air, he make up for with his legs, as Marshall has rushed for 122 yards (6.4 YPC) and two touchdowns in his first two games, including his 103 yards (9.4 YPC) and a score against San Jose State. He is certainly not the only great runner on the team with senior HB Cameron Artis-Payne (289 yards, 4 TD) joining him in the backfield. Artis-Payne has gone for over 110 yards in each of the team’s contests and made it into the end zone three times in their last victory. HB Corey Grant (176 yards, 1 TD) has also been a vital part of the offense with 10 attempts in each game. WR D’haquille Williams has been the clear-cut number No. 1 receiver with Sammie Coates down, as he has nine more receptions (13) than any other ball catcher while going for 214 yards (16.5 avg) and a touchdown. The expected return of Coates would be huge, as he had 902 receiving yards (21.5 avg) and seven scores in 2013. The defense for Auburn has allowed 17.0 PPG and 323.5 YPG to its opponents thus far. LB Cassanova McKinzy (16 tackles, 1 sack) leads a solid linebacker corps which should give any team’s offense trouble.

The Kansas State offense basically splits its yardage evenly between passing (239 YPG) and rushing (236 YPG) in dropping 43.5 PPG on opponents so far. QB Jake Waters (462 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) has done plenty through the air in the first two contests, hitting on 61.4% of his passes (8.1 YPA) and getting at least 220 yards in each game. Like Marshall, Waters is a multi-dimensional offensive player and has schooled defenses for 193 yards (5.2 YPC) and four rushing touchdowns thus far. He has 16 more rushing attempts than the next best running back, HB Charles Jones, who has rumbled for 130 yards (6.2 YPC) and four touchdowns. Six receivers on the Wildcats have between four and seven receptions with WR Tyler Lockett (145 yards, 1 TD) showing through as the best. He is averaging a solid 20.7 yards per reception and is no stranger to the spotlight after a 2013 season in which he tallied 1,262 yards (15.6 avg) and 11 touchdowns. KSU has allowed only 22.0 PPG and 306.5 YPG in its two wins, but the defense will have a tough task ahead with Auburn. Wildcats star LB Jonathan Truman (15 tackles) hopes to lead his team to an upset.   

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter

Football News News

Syndicate