Army -5 1.1% Free Play
Well known is the fact that Houston has lost their best defensive player Ed Oliver, and best offensive player QB King for this game. That's factored into the line here, and HOuston fired their defensive coordinator while Army's left for the North Carolina job. I think the Army DC being lost is not as big of a deal when you factor in how well these kids know the defense with a lot of experience on that side of the ball. Their strength is defending the run, and that's what Houston will need to do in this game.
Houston not the same without King, and their defense has suffered from being on the field too much. They lost 3 of their last 4 games by 10, 14, and 21, and I expect a similar situation here as Army is better on 3rd down, 4th down, and in the Red Zone. They also should dominate the time of posession as they are #1 in the country compared to Houston's 130th ranking. Jeff Monken is an excellent coach, and Army travels well to Texas this is their third year heading to Texas for a bowl game where many of their players are from. They have traveled to Texas 5 times over the last 2 years and average 48.8 points per game when they come here. I could see them putting a 42 points up in this one as Houston's defense is missing 4 defensive lineman. Gave up 300 yards rushing to Navy earlier in the year and 36 points.
