Week two of the college football season is here. TCU plays Long Island, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, Sept. 7; 7:00 p.m. (CT); Amon G. Carter Stadium; Fort Worth, Tx
TV: ESPN+
Records: LIU, 0-1; TCU, 1-0.
Last Week: LIU 21, UAlbany 27; TCU 34, Stanford 27
Series History: First-ever meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Fun Fact: The Horned Frogs are facing a team from the state of New York for the first time since a 31-17 win at Army West Point in 2006. TCU has also won 20 of their last 22 home openers.
TCU VS. LIU BETTING LINES AND ODDS
Opening Line: N/A
Over/Under: N/A
Key Players
LIU Sharks
QB Lua Stanzani
The starting quarterback for the Longs Island is redshirt sophomore Luca Stanzani. Luca played in just three games in 2023 due to an injury but appeared in eight games as a freshman in 2022 where he completed around 59% of his passes for 1,219 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Last weekend against Albany, Luca completed 20 of 31 attempts for 179 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensive Line
One thing to watch for the Sharks defense is up front. This is by far the best opponent Long Island will play this season and that defensive line of theirs is going to go up against a solid TCU offensive line. Can the Sharks hold up? I guess we will find out on Saturday night.
TCU Horned Frogs
RB Cam Cook
The senior running back from Round Rock, Texas is the Horned Frogs top running back as he was listed as the starter going into the season. Against Stanford last Friday, Cook rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on 20 carriers. He should increase those numbers against Long Island.
LB Johnny Hodges
While injuries cut his time short last season, Johnny is back and fully healthy. He had a great game last week against Stanford where he recorded nine tackles against Stanford. He is the heart and soul of this TCU defense and it was clear that the Horned Frogs missed him last year.
Key Storylines
LIU Sharks
Keep it Respectable. It’s no secret that Long Island will be outmanned and outmatched going into this game. TCU has more size, speed, and talent across the board and the Sharks are going to have to figure out a way around all that. While Long Island shouldn’t expect to win this one, they should at least try and keep things respectable. Will that happen? I doubt it.
TCU Horned Frogs
Get the Running Game Going. One thing I expect to see a lot in this game is TCU running the football. There should be no reason for Josh Hoover to throw over 20 passes in this game. The Horned Frogs should easily run for over 250 yards against Long Island without any issues. This is the type of game where the big guys for TCU take over.
PREDICTION: TCU 58, Long Island 10
There really isn’t a lot for me to say outside of TCU is just flat out better. I expect the Horned Frogs to pull their starters by the third quarter and get some backups some game reps. Think of this as a preseason game for TCU.
