Prizing:

1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 winners

Overview:

On Sunday, September 3rd, the (0-0) Texas A&M Aggies will be on the road to take on the (0-0) UCLA Bruins.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Texas A&M 30.4 – UCLA 29.4 with an over/under of 59.8.

2016-17 Statistics (127 total teams):

Passing offense: UCLA 295.6 YPG > Texas A&M 255.2 YPG

Rushing offense: Texas A&M 211.8 YPG > UCLA 84.3 YPG

Scoring offense: Texas A&M 34.8 PPG > UCLA 24.9 PPG

Scoring defense: Texas A&M 23.8 PPG > UCLA 27.5 PPG

Passing defense: UCLA 210.5 YPG > Texas A&M 254.6 YPG

Rushing defense: UCLA 171.5 YPG > Texas A&M 189.6 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Texas A&M +0.3 > UCLA -0.2

Strength of schedule:

Texas A&M was (8-5) in 2016 with wins over UCLA, Prairie View A&M, Auburn, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, New Mexico State, and UTSA.  They were defeated by Kansas State, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Alabama.  UCLA was (4-8) with wins over UNLV, BYU, Arizona, and Oregon State.  They were defeated by Texas A&M, Stanford, Arizona State, Washington State, Utah, Colorado, USC, and California.

Summary:

UCLA had a really disappointing (4-8) season considering the talent they had on that roster.  Josh Rosen will return as the quarterback and will surely be in contention for the prestigious Heisman Trophy.  Rosen played in only six games but threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 10 touchdowns.  UCLA was the worst team in the nation in rushing yards per game (84.3).  This year they will incorporate a stable of talented backs that should be much improved.  The offensive line loses only one starter but obviously struggled to run block.  On the defensive line UCLA loses first round pass rusher Takkarist McKinley.  The Bruins have some top pass rushing recruits to plug in but they have to prove they can be effective t the collegiate level.

Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin has yet to announce his starting quarterback in the wake of Trevor Knight’s departure.  The competition has been between Jake Hubenak, Nick Starkel, or top recruit Kellen Mond.  Trayveon Williams leads the group of running backs after rushing for over 1,000 yards last season.  Receiver Christian Kirk is one of the best in college football at his position.  Beyond those two playmakers, nobody else has contributed much thus far.  The offensive line should be very strong with three starters returning from  a solid unit a year ago.  The defense will certainly miss number one over pick Myles Garrett but the front seven should still be a strength.  The secondary is iffy but their importance is lessened if the pass rush lives up to it’s potential.

Bottom Line:

Texas A&M will pound the rock and try to keep Rosen off the field.  UCLA is able to run the football and provide balance to what is now an explosive offense.  This is a back and forth game but Rosen takes advantage of weak cornerback play and wins it in the end.

Contest Rules:

To be eligible to win a prize in any contest at The Crowd’s Line, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada. You must also submit your score prediction on our official prediction tool (blog widget), and include a valid email address. Contest winners are determined according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology. If more than one entrant has the same winning score, final contest rankings and prize winners are selected by random draw. Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest; multiple entries from a single player will be deemed invalid. There are no prize substitutions or exchanges available from The Crowd’s Line. All contest prizes will be sent by email within 5-7 business days after the conclusion of each contest.