Houston Cougars (4-5) vs. Arizona Wildcats (3-6)
November 15, 2024 10:15 pm EDT
The Line: Arizona Wildcats -2 / Houston Cougars +2; Over/Under: +42.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Houston Cougars and the Arizona Wildcats will meet Friday in college football action from Arizona Stadium. Here’s an Arizona vs Houston prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Arizona vs Houston pick.
Houston Cougars Betting Preview
The Cougars started out on a rough skid this year, dropping four of their first five games to UNLV, Oklahoma, Cincinnati, and Iowa State. Houston would win three of the next four over TCU, Utah, and Kansas State (with a lone loss to Kansas mixed in).
Back on November 2 in their last appearance versus Kansas State, the Cougars were down 19-10 going into the final quarter. Houston came alive with a pair of scores from there and won it in comeback fashion 24-19. Zeon Chriss was a perfect 11-of-11 for 103 yards and a TD while also rushing for 75 yards and another score.
Arizona Wildcats Betting Preview
Over on the Arizona side, they posted a 3-1 run out of the gate with wins over New Mexico, Northern Arizona, and Utah. The Wildcats hit the skids after that, however, falling to Texas Tech, BYU, Colorado, West Virginia, and UCF in the next five outings.
In their game with UCF, Arizona gave up double-digit points in each of the first three quarters on the way to a 56-12 blowout defeat. Noah Fifita threw for 256 yards and two scores. Chris Hunter led the receivers on seven grabs for 102 yards.
Why the Arizona Wildcats will win
- Arizona has won five of its last six games in November.
- Houston has lost four of its last five road games.
- The home team has covered the spread in each of Houston’s last three games.
- Houston has lost the first half in three of its last four road games against conference opponents.
Why the Houston Cougars will win
- Arizona has lost each of its last three games as a favorite.
- The underdog has won each of Arizona’s last three games at Arizona Stadium.
- Arizona has failed to cover the spread in each of its last six games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- The underdog has covered the spread in eight of Arizona’s last nine games at Arizona Stadium.
- Arizona has lost the first half in each of its last five games against conference opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Arizona’s last six November games as a favorite has gone OVER the total points line.
- Nine of Houston’s last 10 games against non-AP-ranked teams have gone UNDER the total points line.
Arizona vs Houston Prediction
I’ll probably try Houston. The Cougars pulled off an epic comeback win over a good Kansas State team in their last outing, and they’ve had some extra time to rest and reflect afterward. Houston posted 232 yards (111 passing) in that one with just 10 first downs and a rough 3-of-12 rate on third-down conversions. The defense came up with a couple of interceptions though, and held Kansas State in check late.
As for Arizona, not much went well in their loss to UCF. The Wildcats gave up 602 yards (308 rushing), 8.7 yards per play, and a whopping 33 first downs. Arizona put up 261 yards (five rushing) on the other side and had 10 penalties. I like the Wildcats to look a little better this weekend but it’ll still be a tricky matchup. It should be a great game to watch.
