The Ball State Cardinals and the Liberty Flames meet in week 3 college football action from Williams Stadium on Saturday. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Ball State Cardinals vs. Liberty Flames Prediction.
Ball State Cardinals Recap
The Ball State Cardinals come into this game looking to add on to their 41-17 win over Stony Brook last time out to improve to 1-1 on the year. After this game, Ball State will head on the road for a game against Kent State.
Cardinals Pick Up First Win
Keldric Luster has thrown for 345 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 69.2% passing while TJ Horton leads the Cardinals in rushing with 129 rushing yards and 1 touchdown so far this season. Zero more Cardinals have at least 100 rushing yards as well this season including Jalen Bonds who has 86 yards and a TD while Jabari Smith leads Ball State in receiving with 72 receiving yards and 6 catches to lead Ball State along with 1 touchdown as well this season. On defense, Sterling Smith has a team-high 11 total tackles in addition to 0 sacks while Ball State’s defense as a whole has combined for 4 sacks and 3 interceptions so far this season.
Liberty Flames Recap
The Liberty Flames come into this game looking to add on to their 24-23 win over the Gardner Webb Bulldogs last time out to sit at 1-1 this season. After this game, Liberty will head on the road for a game against Coastal Carolina.
Flames Narrowly Pick Up First W
Deshawn Purdie has thrown for 352 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions on 52.3% passing while Kam Davis leads the Flames in rushing with 118 rushing yards and 0 touchdowns so far this season. One more Flame has at least 100 rushing yards as well this season including Peyton Jones who has 101 yards and 0 TDs while Makai Jackson leads Liberty in receiving with 142 receiving yards and 5 catches to lead Liberty along with 2 touchdowns as well this season. On defense, Derrell Farrar has a team-high 12 total tackles in addition to 0 sacks while Liberty’s defense as a whole has combined for 2 sacks and 2 interceptions so far this season.
Ball State Cardinals @ Liberty Flames Betting Trends: Week 3
Why the Liberty Flames will win
- Ball State has lost each of its last 19 road games in September.
- The home team has won 14 of Ball State’s last 15 games.
- The favorite has covered the spread in six of Ball State’s last seven games.
- Ball State has failed to cover the spread in 13 of its last 16 September games as an underdog.
- Ball State has lost the first half in each of its last 21 road games in September.
- The home team has won the first quarter in eight of Ball State’s last nine games.
Why the Ball State Cardinals will win
- Liberty has lost three of its last four games as a favorite.
- Liberty has failed to cover the spread in each of its last six games.
- Ball State has covered the spread in each of its last four September games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Liberty has lost the first half in each of its last four September games as a favorite.
- Ball State has won the first quarter in three of its last four games against opponents from the Conference USA.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Liberty’s last seven games against non-conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
- Nine of Ball State’s last 10 games in September have gone OVER the total points line.
Liberty Flames Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 3, Makai Jackson ranks 10th amongst qualified players for Yards Per Reception (28.4) this season.
Ball State Cardinals Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 3, Jabari Smith Jr. ranks T1st amongst qualified players for catch rate (100.0%) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- Liberty ranks T1st among FBS teams for Q4 opponent points per game this season (0.0).
- Liberty ranks T8th among FBS teams for H2 opponent points per game this season (3.0).
- Ball State ranks T136th among FBS teams for Q4 opponent points per game this season (14.0).
- Ball State ranks 134th among FBS teams for yards allowed per game this season (500.5).
Ball State Cardinals vs. Liberty Flames Prediction
I’m on the under in this one. I don’t trust this Ball State offense against FBS opposition, but all Liberty’s done through their first two games is underwhelm as they lost their first game and for all intents and purposes should be 0-2 with a bad performance against a middling GW team. I think this is going to be a low-scoring game so give me the under here.