Welcome back, college football fans, to episode 722 which is all about the opening day of Week 9! For the final time this season, Conference USA October is back with two games tonight and two more tomorrow. Next week, MACNation (mid-week games in November) takes over. If you haven’t taken in a CUSA game this month, please take the time to watch these guys this week. Most of their games are on ESPN+, which is a channel that we watch often, but most people tend to watch the “big” games.
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Our first game tonight, with a 7:00 (all times Eastern) kickoff is a personal favorite for the entire staff at the GCR (aka, JoJo and G) when the Delaware Blue Hens (3-4/117) take on the W Kentucky Hilltoppers (3-4/110). Delaware just bested Missouri St (2-5/142) 61-38 while is coming off a bye week. When the Blue Hens are on offense, they bring an Offensive Efficiency Rating (OER) of 109 (105th out of 266 teams) which means that they score 10.9 points for every 10.0 points their opponents normally allow. They will battle a WKY Defensive Efficiency Rating (DER) of 90 (187th) which means they give up 10.0 points for every 9.0 their opponents normally score. A bit of an advantage for Delaware. When the Hilltoppers control the ball, they bring a below average OER of 84 (189th) vs a Delaware DER of 88 (197th). This matchup seems a wash. Vegas typically gives 3.5 points to the home team. They see this game very close with WKY-1.5, winning at home but withing the natural advantage. The GCR sees it close with Delaware winning by 3.5. This game can (and should) be watched on CBS Sports.
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Our second game tonight features a couple of struggling teams when the Sam Houston Bearkats (1-6/165) invade the Missouri St Bears (2-5/142). SHOU’s only win this season was against FCS Nicholls (3-5/260). Likewise, the Bears have an FCS win over Lindenwood (3-4/229) and conference foe Kennesaw St (1-6/162). Both of them need a win badly. Vegas has MOST-5.5 and the GCR agrees (actually up to 10.5 points). This game is on at 8:00 tonight on ESPN2.
| Time (ET) | Games of October 27th | Conference | Vegas | GCR | Cover | TV |
| 7:00 | Delaware (3-4/117) at W Kentucky (3-4/110) | USA | WKY -1.5 | DEL | DEL | CBS Sports |
| 8:00 | Sam Houston (1-6/165) at Missouri St (2-5/142) | USA | MOST -5.5 | MOST | MOST | ESPN2 |
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That’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow for two more midweek games as we drive through Week 9. Thank you, as always, for reading our content, commenting on our work and suggesting changes, and, especially, for sharing with others, JoJo and G.
