King of Props: Caging a Jayhawk
While Kansas is a perennial power in college basketball, having added another national championship in April, the school’s football team hasn’t posted a winning record since 2008. The gridiron Jayhawks stand at 1-0 after beating Tennessee Tech of the FCS ranks, but now they’re on the road facing West Virginia. This matchup between Big 12 foes provides an opportunity to exploit an appealing prop angle:
The bet: Under 27½ rushing yards for Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels (DraftKings)
A unique aspect of college football stat keeping is that sacks count as negative rushing yards for the quarterback. Although Daniels is capable of some modest gains on the ground, he’s also vulnerable to being dropped for losses.
In last year’s game between these teams, the Mountaineers held Daniels to nine rushing yards on 12 official attempts. Two were sacks that went for losses of 11 and 12 yards. When his runs are intentional, he rarely dazzles.
The West Virginia defense returned three top sack artists – headlined by fifth-year senior Dante Stills – and this unit seems even better at getting to the passer. It opened the season with five sacks of Pitt QB Kedon Slovis, who ended up with minus-20 rushing yards. Similar pressure will keep Daniels comfortably under this number.
A longtime writer and sports bettor, John Dudley has been dubbed the “King of Props” for his proficiency with proposition wagers. Research is the key that routinely unlocks success, and his selections are always backed by sound reasoning. John can be followed on Twitter @JohnDudley85.
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