The Abilene Christian Wildcats (0-0) visit the renovated Sun Bowl to lock horns and match wits against the UTEP Miners (1-1) in a Saturday night (9 p.m. ET) contest in El Paso, Texas. We analyze the Wildcats-Miners college football betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Abilene Christian at UTEP: Betting odds and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
- Money line: UTEP -200 | Abilene Christian +160
- Against the spread/ATS: UTEP -4.5 (-110) | Abilene Christian +4.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 54 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Abilene Christian at UTEP: Three things to know
- UTEP brought an 11-game losing streak to a halt with a 24-14 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 5. The Miners then traveled to Austin for a 59-3 beatdown at the hands (horns?) of a Texas Longhorns team that flirted with a 700-yard offensive performance.
- Green quarterbacks will figure in this one. UTEP QB Gavin Hardison is tabbed for his third career start. QB Sema’J Davis and QB Peyton Mansell are likely to be a tandem in play for the Wildcats.
- Gone is Abilene Christian LB Jeremiah Chambers, who logged 110 tackles (including 20.5 for losses). That figures to give Hardison an extra beat to find a couple or three talented receivers. It also opens up the Miners’ ground game.
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Abilene Christian at UTEP: Odds, betting lines and picks
Prediction
Abilene Christian 27, UTEP 24
Money line (ML)
This tag generates a slight lean toward the visiting Wildcats, who, coming off a 5-7 campaign a year ago, look to be overlooked. I peg an Abilene Christian as a near-40% probability. Liking ACU even a tick more certainly makes for value on WILDCATS (+160).
Against the spread (ATS)
There isn’t much of a lean here — maybe a tad toward the Wildcats, and at the comparative prices, the money line is the way to go.
Over/Under (O/U)
The favored play of these three is the total. Without a spate of D/ST scores or bad field-position turnovers, and without veteran quarterback play on either side, a combined score in the 45-51 range has enough likelihood to make the UNDER 54 (-110) the go-to play.
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