College Football Week 14 Picks: Louisville Cardinals vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Charlie Strong is 7-0 against the spread (ATS) when playing on the road after a loss in his career, which is an important betting trend to consider when the Louisville Cardinals (9-2) take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-2) on Thursday night, with the opening kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Cardinals are currently three-point road underdogs in the Week 14 college football odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 43.5 in the market.

Strong has also led Louisville to consecutive victories in this series since taking over the program in 2010, including a 16-14 win as one-point home favorites last year, while going UNDER the posted total of 41.5.

Let's take a closer look at this Big East Conference matchup from a betting perspective, while offering a college football prediction along the way. 

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is banged up entering this contest, but the team has gone 3-0 ATS after suffering two or more consecutive losses since 2010.

Sports bettors need to realize that the Cardinals have out-gained the Scarlet Knights by a 404-240 margin on the ground in their last two meetings.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have struggled to put up points in the early going this year. They've scored just 83 first-half points in 11 games, and only 23 in the opening 15 minutes.

It's imperative that the defense forces a turnover for the 15th consecutive game, which dates back to last season, if it plans on covering the spread in this affair.  

I reached out to Jimmy Vaccaro earlier this week about this high-profile affair. He serves as the public relations director for William Hill U.S., and here's what he had to say:

Louisville surely did not merit the attention that it got in the polls this season, and that's shown over the last few weeks. I think the point is driven home when Rutgers blows them out with a BCS spot on the line.

I'm going to recommend that readers back the Louisville Cardinals in the opening 30 minutes of this contest, as they've won five of their last six road games in the month of November.

College Football Week 14 Pick: Louisville Cardinals +1.5 First Half

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