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Bet underdogs and unders in this weekend's weather-impacted games

Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images Sport / Getty

There's nothing aesthetically pleasing about football played in the rain.

Everything slows down. It can take passing out of the game completely. And unsurprisingly, scoring plummets.

Last year, Hurricane Irma impacted game times and caused cancellations to begin the 2017 college football season. This weekend, Hurricane Florence is expected to bring inclement weather to the coast. Expect both rain and wind to play a factor in most of the games in the area.

A handful of lines and totals are already on the move for the affected games - if they're still on the board. The West Virginia-NC State, UCF-North Carolina, and East Carolina-Virginia Tech games were canceled, meaning your single-game wagers and any futures bets you may have had tied up will be canceled too. The kickoff times for other games in the surrounding area have been moved up or back, while other games are being played at a neutral site.

With some weather-impacted matchups remaining on the Saturday slate (at least for now), let's dive into how some of the numbers have moved, and look at what we can expect with plenty of precipitation.

Old Dominion at Charlotte

Open: Old Dominion -3/46.5 O/U

Current: Old Dominion -2/40.5 O/U

Team Run % Pass %
Old Dominion 47.1 52.9
Charlotte 60.6 39.4

Not only have the 49ers been a run-heavy team so far this season, they've been great at stopping it too. Charlotte held Fordham's running backs to 2.9 yards per carry on the ground in the opener and allowed just 4.0 against an Appalachian State team that nearly beat Penn State. On the flip side, roughly 70 percent of Old Dominion's offensive output has been through the air.

Both offenses are tough on the eyes in dry conditions; in torrential rain, I'm not convinced the two combined can get over the low total.

Southern Mississippi @ Appalachian State

Open: Appalachian State -14.5/49 O/U

Current: Appalachian State -16/46 O/U

Team Run % Pass %
Southern Miss. 40.0 60.0
Appalachian St. 55.8 44.2

Southern Miss churning out 58 rushing yards on 34 attempts against a weak UL-Monroe defense doesn't inspire much hope for the future of the ground game, especially on the road in wet conditions.

Given its inefficient running game, Southern Miss relies on quarterback Jack Abraham to create for the offense, but the team no longer has the passing-game firepower it did in years past to become one-dimensional through the air. However, with lower totals comes less variance and more predictability, and laying more than two touchdowns, even with the clear advantage to Appalachian State, feels like a reach.

Marshall at South Carolina

Open: South Carolina -14/50.5 O/U

Current: South Carolina -13.5/46.5 O/U

Team Run % Pass %
Marshall 49.3 50.7
South Carolina 40.4 59.6

South Carolina was already in a weird sandwich spot, coming off a deflating blowout at the hands of Georgia then jumping back into SEC play in Week 5 with a road game at Vanderbilt.

Meeting the Gamecocks in the middle is Marshall, which shouldn't be overlooked if South Carolina slips into hangover mode. And the weather has thrown another wrench into what could already be a grind in Columbia.

Despite the discrepancy in run/pass play percentages, South Carolina still has two capable backs in Rico Dowdle and Ty'Son Williams, who have averaged 5.6 yards and 6.4 yards per carry, respectively.

In a matchup where S&P+ gave South Carolina a 7.8-point margin of victory in clean conditions, the underdog catching +13 or +13.5 - depending where you shop - in inclement weather against a team off a blowout home loss to Georgia deserves a second look.

Georgia Southern @ Clemson

Open: Clemson -34.5/48 O/U

Current: Clemson -34/44.5 O/U

Team Run % Pass %
Ga. Southern 86.0 14.0
Clemson 53.3 46.7

Georgia Southern won't need to tinker with its game plan at all when it visits Clemson - the Eagles have thrown just 16 passes against 112 rushing attempts through two games.

Clemson falls into a similar category as South Carolina with its scheduling. The Tigers are coming off a marquee game - a road win over Texas A&M - and travel for a road game to open up ACC play in Week 5. That leaves a mid-major in the middle, and the Eagles are getting nearly five touchdowns in this one.

Georgia Southern, much like Marshall, is the ideal opponent to overlook in this spot, and the Eagles might only need a field goal to cover with all sorts of potential distractions on the Clemson side.

If you have action on any of the four weather-impacted games this weekend and the play starts with the word "under," it's probably a good first look.

Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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