Vegas Play of the Day: UConn at BYU

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Oct. 2, 2015 | 2 a.m.

We've reset the Play of the Day with fresh bankrolls and turned it into a yearly competition. Our three sports writers have restarted with $10,000 bankrolls to continue using odds from the South Point.

BYU minus-17.5 vs. Connecticut: $440 to win $400

This point spread has stayed surprisingly stagnant through the week. It makes sense that gamblers are gunshy after BYU basically failed to show up in a 31-0 loss at Michigan as a 7-point underdog last week.

But that was an unfavorable position, what with BYU coming off of consecutive games against UCLA, Boise State and Nebraska and traveling East for a 9 a.m. Pacific kickoff time. The Cougars are the ones benefiting from a strange scheduling spot this week.

The Huskies haven’t played west of Texas in at least a decade. They also have never had to deal with altitude like they will at LaVell Edwards Stadium, which sits 4,649 feet above sea level.

Oh, and they can’t score in normal conditions. UConn is in the nation’s bottom 25 with 4.7 yards per play.

BYU beat Connecticut last year 35-10 as 15.5-point favorites on the road. How are the Cougars only laying two more at home?

Aside from the forgivable performance at Michigan, BYU has demonstrated visible improvement this season. UConn has put up back-to-back strong defensive performances against Missouri and Navy, but BYU is more advanced offensively than both of those teams.

It’s not going to be a fun trip West for the Huskies.

Current Standings (as of July 1): Bern (11-12, $10,180), Brewer (15-13, $9,860), Keefer (8-22-1, $3,561)

Lifetime Records: 2014-15 Champion Bern (93-85-1), Keefer (92-105-3), Brewer (84-100-2)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.