Troy vs Old Dominion Preview: Odds, Predictions, and Best Bet for Thursday, November 13

The Troy Trojans will fly north to take on the Old Dominion Monarchs in a nice little Sun Belt matchup on Thursday, November 13. Both are jockeying for position in the conference race, so we should see two focused squads battle it out on ESPN tonight at 7:30 PM Eastern Time.

Both teams are currently sitting at 6-3 and coming off a bye week. Old Dominion sits in 3rd place in the Sun Belt East, while Troy is currently 2nd in the West. Both teams need this game to stay in their respective division races.

How will this one play out? We’ll dive into which team has the edge in each statistical category. Get our top predictions and best bet here. Best of luck, sports betting family.

Saturday, September 5 at 7:00 PM	Spread	Money	Total
Sam Houston State Bearkats	+18 (-109)	+750	O 52.5 (-110)
Troy Trojans	-18 (-110)	-1100	U 50.5 (-108)

Opening Odds for Troy vs Old Dominion

Oddsmakers are making Old Dominion a sizable favorite in this game, as the opening line priced the Monarchs as a 9.5-point favorite. A lot of money has shown up for ODU, so the price now sits in the 11 to 11.5-point range at most online sportsbooks. Be sure to shop around for the best price.

There should be a moderate amount of scoring in this game, which is kind of strange for Sun Belt. The opening total was 52.5, and the number hasn’t moved at most shops. I’ll be curious to see where the late money pushes this line before the kick.

Can Troy Bounce Back After a Tough Loss?

The Trojans had won five in a row before getting smoked by Arkansas State a couple of weeks ago on November 1st. The main bugaboo for Troy was its lack of offense, as they mustered less than 200 total yards. They held a slight edge in time of possession, but two untimely turnovers were too much for them to overcome against the Red Wolves.

Troy is supposed to get Goose Crowder back at QB, and fans hope that his mobility will inject some much-needed life into this Trojans offense. The team has no running game to speak of, and they’ve struggled to protect the QB most of the year. However, they do rank a respectable 71st in yards per pass, so ODU had better be ready in the secondary.

Will Old Dominion Be Fired Up at Home?

Old Dominion has looked fantastic this season, even though they were blown out by both Marshall and James Madison. Colton Joseph has been a beast at QB, as he’s thrown for 2231 yards and 19 TDs this year. He also leads the Monarchs in both rushing yards (620) and rushing TDs (9).

ODU’s defense is anchored by its secondary, which ranks 14th in coverage so far this season. The Monarchs also do an excellent job of pressuring opposing QBs, as they rank 16th in the nation in sack rate. The squad has been just mediocre at stopping the run, but Troy’s subpar and banged up O-line shouldn’t give them too many problems.

Best Bet: Old Dominion -6.5 (-110) (First Half)

How about some Thursday college football action on ESPN to start our weekend a little early? Diehard fans and bettors just have to love the Sun Belt / Fun Belt. I think this is a good spot to play the Monarchs at home in a primetime TV timeslot.

Old Dominion has impressed me all season long, especially when they played Indiana close and then boat-raced Virginia Tech a few weeks later. The Monarchs have a strong running game that ranks 20th in the nation in yards per rush. That should be a big help to them since Troy gives up 173.1 yards per game on the ground (98th). ODU RB Trequan Jones (5’9″, 183) may be small, but he’s averaging a robust 7.8 yards per tote this year.

Troy may have the same 6-3 record as ODU, but the Trojans have played a really weak schedule so far (110th according to Sagarin). They only average 4.5 yards per play, which is a putrid 126th in the country. I don’t see them doing much against this Monarchs’ defense. Let’s lay the points in the first half with Old Dominion. Best of luck, fellow sports investors!

Trend I Love: ODU is 8-3 ATS in the 1st Half over their last 11 games!