NCAAF Impact Injuries 9/27
NCAAF Impact Injuries
Written by: Corey March
Sports Info Solutions collects the most detailed injury data in the world.
Here in our Pennsylvania office, we have an army of 60+ video scouts who watch every game and are trained to flag any incident that resembles an injury. Each injury is quantified using a severity scale and described to identify things such as the injury type, how it occurred, and what body part is affected.
We then have our in-house injury expert watch every play that has an injury flag and use his kinesiology experience to come up with a diagnosis. In addition to that, we scour all available third-party resources in search of injury news and updates.
Injury data like this isn’t available publicly and bookmakers are sometimes unaware of injuries that may affect upcoming games.
Here are a few important injuries from last week:
Josh Jackson, QB (Virginia Tech)
- Injury: Fractured Fibula
- Timeline: Out for Season
- Impact: Say what you want about Josh Jackson (ranked 39th in IQR and 45th last year) but he’s been a stable leader for a highly-competitive Hokies team. Insert Kansas-transfer Ryan Willis (12 TDs/17 INTs at KU) and there is good reason to doubt this offense going forward. There should be enough talent at the skill positions to stave off a lost season but there will be plenty of questions to answer this weekend at Duke. Both teams will be without their starting QBs and the line is Duke -4.5. Duke’s backup, Quentin Harris, has been good enough through two starts (albeit against spotty competition), so I’ll lean toward the home favorite but not with enough confidence to place a bet.
Reid Herring, QB (East Carolina)
- Injury: Ankle Sprain
- Timeline: Questionable
- Impact: Herring left last week’s contest early, only to return and stumble to a 20-13 defeat vs South Florida. Herring has been functional at best through the early part of the season (his 72.2 IQR ranks 63-of-66 QBs with 100+ pass attempts). If he misses this Saturday’s game (vs ODU), it’s easy to speculate that their backup will be even less productive under center. If Herring goes at less than 100%, the results may not be pretty either. Both of these teams rank near the bottom of the FBS field but with ODU showing they have what it takes to knock off a top-25 opponent, I’ll side with the Monarchs catching 7 points on the road.
David Pindell, QB (UConn)
- Injury: Knee Injury
- Timeline: Questionable
- Impact: UConn ranks last in my SIS data rating system and the prospect of missing their leading passer and rusher could make for a scary scene this weekend at home against Cincinnati. The Huskies will also trot out the worst defense in the FBS through four games against an undefeated Bearcats team. In addition to their 4-0 start, Cincinnati is 3-1 against the spread. I have little reason to doubt they can’t cover 17.5 points in this contest, considering they already shut out a better opponent (Miami OH) on the road earlier this season.
Kilton Anderson, QB (Coastal Carolina)
- Injury: Foot Injury
- Timeline: Questionable
- Impact: Anderson bowed out of last week’s game and backup Bryce Carpenter was able to come in and secure the win against Louisiana-Lafayette. Anderson has been a solid starter, leading the Chanticleers to a 3-1 start, but backups Carpenter and Chance Thrasher (great name) have stepped in and excelled in limited action. Coastal Carolina will be 14-point underdogs on the road against a trendy opponent in Troy. Coastal has what it takes to cover the spread but I’ll be passing on this one.
Dae Williams, RB (Louisville)
- Injury: Bone Bruise (Knee)
- Timeline: Questionable
- Impact: Last week, Louisville turned to backup QB Malik Cunningham to jumpstart their offense, only to have the unit completely stall before turning back to Jawan Pass. Williams, the Cardinals top RB, only carried three times for six yards before exiting – the team finished with 29 attempts for 66 yards against a middling Power-5 defense in Virginia. Louisville hasn’t announced which QB will start in the upcoming home game against Florida State, but neither one is an inspiring option. Combine this with the fact that Williams may not suit up and Louisville is a dangerous bet, even as 6.5-point home dogs. The Seminoles have had their share of struggles on offense, too, making my favorite action on this game the under (46 points).
- Injury: Foot Sprain
- Timeline: Questionable
- Impact: Weber is second in line for carries behind standout RB J.K. Dobbins and only received six attempts in Urban Meyer’s coaching debut last week. Weber has carried 52 times to Dobbins’ 56 through the first four games (a 101 to 193 ratio last season) so although it would be a surmountable loss, this offense would prefer to be at full strength in a big time showdown at Penn State. Sharp action has been on the Nittany Lions thus far, diving the line down from OSU -4 to -3. I’ve been more impressed by what I’ve seen from the Buckeyes to this point but I’ll pass on betting against the short home dog in this one.
Want more? Sign up for the SIS Bonus Pack.