Rutgers travels to Tampa to take on South Florida

After escaping Nevada with a 32-31 win last Saturday, South Florida returns home to host Rutgers on Thursday night. This game will be the first of the Big East schedule for both teams.

South Florida has a good team but Rutgers are better than they are given credit for this season. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are 8-point favorites at BetJambo with the total set at 46.  

A big win here for either team will catapult them to a 3-0 record and serious momentum heading into the heart of their schedules.

South Florida is trying to make an impression in the Big East, so a win over Rutgers would be huge for them moving forward, while Rutgers looks to continue their recent succes.

These two teams have the talent to win this game and there are key players on each team that will decide the outcome of this game.

Rutgers has been lightly tested thus far this season, beating Tulane and Howard. Running back Jawan Jamison has been the key to their offense. He has 222 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries this season.

South Florida has relied heavily on the arm of B.J. Daniels. He has 588 passing yards, six touchdowns and one interception through two games.

Two key trends to consider are that Rutgers is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games when playing on a Thursday and South Florida is 3-11 ATS against conference opponents over the last three seasons.

This game is a big early test for these two teams. The South Florida offense has been very impressive this season and the Rutgers defense has been strong. One of the keys to this game will be if the South Florida defensive line can contain Rutgers three-headed running attack. Another key to thos game will be the Rutgers defense and their ability to contain B.J. Daniels. I see the Rutgers defense keeping this game close but the hostile Thursday night crowd will give South Florida the edge in the end. Rutgers +8 is the play here.

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