The Memphis Tigers (5-5, 2-4 AAC) square off with the Houston Cougars (9-1, 7-0) Friday at TDECU Stadium. The game is set to kickoff at 9 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Memphis at Houston odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
The Cougars have been cooking. Since losing to Texas Tech in the season opener, they’ve rattled off nine straight wins, one coming over SMU.
They’re 7-0 in conference play, likely to play No. 3 Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference championship game. They’ll have to get through Memphis first.
Memphis has lost to Tulsa, East Carolina and UCF in its past five games, but it did down SMU, an impressive win. It will enter as a heavy underdog having to travel to Houston in this matchup.
Rankings courtesy of the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Memphis at Houston odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 5:28 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Memphis +265 (bet $100 to win $265) | Houston -350 (bet $350 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Memphis +9.5 (-108) | Houston -9.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 60.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Memphis at Houston odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Houston 38, Memphis 27
Money line
PASS as Houston is just far too pricey. Houston should come out on top, but at -350, it’s just not worthy of any bet.
Against the spread
“LEAN” to MEMPHIS +9.5 (-108) as the Tigers have played close games lately. They actually have a marquee victory over SMU, so they have talent and are well coached.
Houston has a dynamic offense, averaging 38.9 points per game (PPG) to rank 10th in the country. However, the Tigers average 31.5 PPG and rank 47th.
Both have explosive offenses, but the Cougars have an elite defense as well. They have the sixth-best opponents’ yards per game (292.4).
The defense should allow Houston to come out on top, but Memphis has taken down Mississippi State and SMU while having just one double-digit loss despite being defeated five times.
If the line climbs to 10, it’d be a full unit-worthy bet in my opinion.
Over/Under
BET OVER 60.5 (-110) as the offenses are both surging. Memphis has scored under 25 points just once, and as mentioned, the Cougars have one of the best scoring offenses in the NCAA.
Houston is 31st and Memphis is 18th in passing yards per game, so both are heavily leaning on their quarterbacks. That should be good for points, and this should be a high-scoring game.
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