The Connecticut Huskies will head to New Jersey to take on Rutgers in ESPN’s Friday Night college football showdown this week. Rutgers is coming off a shocking home loss to Tulane, while the Huskies have won two straight after starting out the season in disappointing fashion. Greg Schiano’s Rutgers squad was the talk of college football just a few short years ago, but the program has fallen on hard times once again. Can Rutgers use this game as a springboard to get back on the right path?

College Football Picks: The Offenses

UConn Head Coach Randy Edsall made the move a couple games ago to replace Zach Frazer with Cody Endres at the quarterback spot. Endres has been able to move the team up and down the field much more consistently, and the Huskies are a more balanced offense with him at the helm. The bread-and-butter of this offense is still the running game. Jordan Todman already has 638 yards rushing this season. Todman is averaging an amazing 6.5 yards per carry. The Huskies will always look to run the football first, but Endres will give them the option to air it out as well.

The Rutgers offense has been a mess so far this year. Earlier this week Coach Schiano said he isn’t even sure who will start at quarterback this weekend. The Scarlet Knights have been unable to produce through the air no matter who the quarterback is. The offense as a whole averages only 19 points per game, and the passing attack contributes only 153 yards per game. Rutgers has been unable to find any kind of identity on offense, and that can at least partially be contributed to the poor play of the offensive line. This unit must get better in a hurry if the Knights wish to contend for a bowl berth.

The Defenses

The UConn defense has been a bit of a disappointment so far this year. The Huskies have a big strong defensive line, but they are giving up 162 yards per game on the ground. The secondary has done a solid job in coverage, but they haven’t been tested by any terrific quarterbacks, either. The Huskies have done a good job getting after the quarterback so far this year, which helps minimize the potential of the deep pass hurting this defense. This unit has been decent, but they can definitely play better.
The Rutgers defense has been very good this year. In fact, the defense ranks fourth in the nation in points allowed at just 12 per game. This number may be a bit skewed since they haven’t faced a good offense yet this year. One area where the team must improve is their pass rush. Through four games they have only sacked the quarterback five times. This defense deserves credit for keeping their team in every game so far this year, but the jury is still out on how good they truly are.

Connecticut vs. Rutgers Betting Odds and Line Movement

The Huskies opened as four-point road favorites, but the money continues to come in on their side. Connecticut is now favored by 5.0 or 5.5 depending on the book. The posted total opened at 42 points, and it has now edged back to 41.5. The biggest public bet on this game so far has definitely been with UConn on the pointspread.

Connecticut vs. Rutgers Betting Trends

Last year Rutgers went into Connecticut and upset the Huskies, but UConn is 6-1-1 ATS in the last eight meetings between these two schools. The underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings. UConn is 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games, and they are now 15-4 ATS in their last 19 games overall. The ‘over’ is 10-3 in UConn’s last 13 games overall.

College Football Picks for Connecticut vs. Rutgers

The Rutgers defense has fared well in 2010, but this is definitely the best offense they have matched up against. I think the Huskies will be able to run the ball effectively all game long. Rutgers just doesn’t look like they ready for a big game like this right now. I like Connecticut to win this one and cover the spread.

Allen Eastman has been doing very well with his football picks, and he went 4-1 in college last week. This college football handicapper has a 7-Unit Pac-10 Game of the Year going for this weekend. Call Doc’s Sports toll-free at 1-866-238-6696 to get a free week of Eastman’s picks or any of the other fine football handicappers at Doc’s Sports (new customers only).