Lamar opens as an 11 pt underdog sat. vs S.D.

[ThrillHill80LHS]

Vegas has the opening line at LU +11 with the O/U set at 44.

[bigred360]

SD has lost 4 of their last 5 so they aren't exactly setting the world on fire. However, they did beat Minnesota out of the Big 10 and North Dakota who Lamar lost to a few games back.

The weather may be a factor in this game as there is a 80% chance of rain Saturday which will hurt our attendance and probably hurt our passing game. Their QB has over 2,000 yards passing this season with 18 TD's and 6 interceptions. Their best RB has over 700 yards rushing and 4 TD's.

Their kicker is 10 of 14 with a long of 49 yards. The punter averages over 43 yards per punt with a long of 60. The kicker appears to have a strong leg as he has 2 TB on the season.

So, I think they are better in 2 of the 3 major aspects of football. I believe they are better on offense and special teams. Thus, I think it will be a hard fought game.

The Coyotes 20-10 over the Cardinals.

[LU1991]

The following is S.D. record for this season:

Sat, Sep 4 at Central Florida                      L, 7-38
Sat, Sep 11 at Minnesota                        W, 41-38
Sat, Sep 18 Northwestern Oklahoma State  W, 48-14
Sat, Sep 25 at North Dakota State            L, 16-38
Sat, Oct 2 North Dakota                          W, 27-17
Sat, Oct 9 at UC Davis                            L, 13-17
Sat, Oct 16 Northern Iowa                        L, 14-19
Sat, Oct 23 at Southern Utah                    L, 13-31
Sat, Oct 30 Northern Colorado                  W, 34-6
Sat, Nov 6 Cal Poly                                  L, 24-38

They lead no.18 Cal Poly 24-17 late in the 3rd until giving up 21 unanswered points.

[coachacola]

Woodard talks about South Dakota on the LU website and he says they are big and physical and like to run the ball.  There's a good chance they'll be running through Lamar's defense all day.  Massey Ratings has SD by 17 and they've been pretty accurate so far.

http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=lama&media=208535

[JJWooten]

USD's Starting O-Line:

LT 76 Compton,Tom - 6'6" 311
LG 75 Slotten,Scott - 6'7" 330
C 69 Ross,Tim - 6'2" 280
RG 64 Johnson,Brent - 6'5" 304
RT 78 Polley,Rj - 6'6" 330

That is a BIG O-line to go against a relatively undersized Lamar Defensive line, even on the defensive side of the ball, USD has size:

DT 96 Weisbrod,Jesse - 6'5" 270
NT 93 Capper,Evan - 6'1" 279
DE 85 Neilson,Michael - 6'3 218