Week 2 of college football betting begins on Thursday with the University of Miami Hurricanes taking on the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers.
The Hurricanes finished the 2019 season with a disappointing 6-7 record but have big expectations for 2020 and enter their season opener as a 14-point favorite. The Blazers finished last season with a 9-5 record but back-to-back lopsided defeats ended the year on a sour note.
We break down the college football odds and bring you our free picks and predictions for UAB vs Miami on Thursday, September 10 (8 p.m. ET).
UAB Blazers vs Miami Hurricanes betting preview
Weather
Thursday is expected to be a hot and humid evening at Hard Rock Stadium with temperatures in the 80s and 76 percent humidity. There will also be a breeze over 7 mph. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Injuries
UAB: None
Miami: Donald Chaney Jr. RB (questionable), Robert Burns RB (questionable), Avantae Williams S (out), Navaughn Donaldson OL (out), Issiah Walker Jr. (out)
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Against the Spread (ATS) Pick
Miami had a fantastic defense in 2019 but was brought down by their stagnant offense. That attack should be much improved as they added offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, who helped run a SMU offense that racked up 42.1 ppg last season.
Who are we kidding? Lashlee will help but the big addition was graduate transfer quarterback D'Eriq King, who passed for 2,982 yards and 36 touchdowns for Houston in 2018 while running for another 674 yards and 14 scores on the ground.
King was injured for most of last year but if his spectacular performance (24-34 for 330 yards and six TDs) in Miami's final scrimmage last week is any indication, he should be ready to cook for Miami.
While Miami's offensive line was a weak link last year, it should be more experienced, plus running back Cam'Ron Harris and tight end Brevin Jordan look poised for big years. A much-improved offense should help Miami cover this spread.
PREDICTION: Miami -14 (-110)
Over/Under Pick
While this is the Hurricanes' first game of the year, UAB played last week, defeating FCS Central Arkansas by a score of 45-35. Before you look at that and think the Blazers defense is a sieve, let's just go straight to Miami coach Manny Diaz for his assessment.
“The score was very misleading,” Diaz said of the Blazers' victory. “The strength of UAB’s team is their defense, and Central Arkansas had a 4-yard touchdown drive, a 15-yard touchdown drive, they score on defense and they score twice against the backups in the fourth. You still see a very good defensive football team in UAB.”
As for the 'Canes, their defense should continue to be the calling card for this program, despite losing their three best linebackers from a year ago. While highly-regarded NFL prospect Gregory Rousseau has decided to opt-out of this season, Miami's pass rush should still be very strong, thanks to graduate transfer Quincy Roche who racked up 13 sacks for Temple in 2019.
UAB was ninth in the country in total defense last year, while Miami was 16th. Don't expect a huge dropoff from either stop-unit and take the Under.
PREDICTION: Under 51 (-110)
First Half Bet
While UAB's defense was solid in 2019, in their last seven contests they displayed a worrying tendency to get burned in the first half of games. The Blazers gave up 23 first-half points to Tennessee, 20 to Southern Miss and a whopping 35 points to Florida Atlantic in the Conference USA Championship.
Look for Miami to get off to a fast start at home and cover the first-half spread.
PREDICTION: First Half Spread Miami -7 (-110)
UAB Blazers vs Miami Hurricanes betting card
- Miami -14 (-110)
- Under 51 (-110)
- First Half Spread Miami -7 (-110)
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