With the arrival of Week 4 of the college football season, so begins the new tradition of old rivalries being played at the start of the season. The TCU Horned Frogs will travel across town as they take on the SMU Mustangs on Saturday.
With both teams sitting at 2-1 and looking to avoid dropping down to a .500 record, here’s all the latest betting information to help you get a handle on what might happen in a Texas showdown across the interstate.
TCU vs. SMU Betting and DFS Preview
All TCU vs. SMU odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and correct as of September 16, 2024.
- Spread
TCU -2.5 - Moneyline
TCU -130, SMU +110 - Over/Under
57.5 - Game time
5:00 p.m. ET - Location
Gerald J Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX - Predicted Weather at Kick
98 degrees, 7 mph winds, mostly sunny and hot - How to Watch
The CW Network
Both teams know how to put points on the board, and we’ll see who can do it with more consistency this week. However, with a total of 57.5 and both squads posting better than 30 points a game, the Over might look nice here until you realize the bulk of those points for SMU came in a 59-7 win over Houston Christian.
The Frogs lost a close one to UCF by a score of 35-34 and have consistently put up points, but they are 0-3 against the spread this year, which makes a tight -2.5 line in their favor too close for comfort. Moneyline would be the play here depending on which side you lean.
H3: Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
- QB Josh Hoover, TCU
- QB Kevin Jennings, SMU
- RB Cam Cook, TCU
- WR Jack Bech, TCU
- WR Savion Williams, TCU
- RB Brashard Smith, SMU
- WR RJ Maryland, SMU
- WR Key’Shawn Smith, SMU
Prediction for TCU vs. SMU
It was almost a perfect start to the season for the Frogs as they took down both Stanford and Long Island, but a last-minute kick sailed wide as UCF came back to score 15 points in the fourth quarter and beat TCU at home.
SMU was off to a similarly good start after beating Nevada on the road and Houston Christian at home in a blowout, but the Mustangs fell in a defensive slugfest at home to BYU in a Friday night game.
For the Mustangs, the offense has sputtered for the most part, and while Kevin Jennings has unseated Preston Stone for the time being, it hasn’t led to a ton of production on the offensive side of the ball yet. It will be the first start for Jennings, and his 6.4 yards per rush may be the reason why he’s getting the start despite only 6.7 yards per attempt.
Josh Hoover has played well for the Horned Frogs, throwing for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns with a lovely zero interceptions. TCU has not found a ground game though, and it hurt last Saturday against UCF.
Neither team has looked particularly stout defensively, and while TCU started out strong against UCF, it was a late-game blown lead that will leave some question marks going into this week. The one area SMU might have an advantage is in creating turnovers — they’ve done it five times this year to the Horned Frogs’ two.
MORE: Simulate the College Football Season with CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
It comes down to offensive firepower in this one. For TCU, the play of Hoover is a safer bet than that of Jennings, and the Frogs’ offense will be just that much better because of it. That should give TCU the win in a fun in-state matchup between two schools less than an hour apart.
Prediction: TCU 30, SMU 27
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