SEC football resumes with a key Thursday night road game between Auburn and Kansas State.

Brian Edwards, a long-time Las Vegas handicapper with an emphasis on SEC football, will provide his thoughts and insights on the line moves throughout the 2014 season. Edwards, a University of Florida graduate, is a weekly radio guest in Las Vegas, Omaha and Memphis and makes regular appearances on Chad Millman’s betting podcast on ESPN.com.

You can check out his work on Twitter or on his website, BrianEdwardsSports.com.

Kansas State at Auburn
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Thursday Line: Auburn -7.5 (opened -8.5)
Over/Under: 66 (opened 65.5)
Public: 69 percent Tigers

Brian, Malzahn’s record against the spread at Auburn is 22-6. In general, would you ever take a trend like that into consideration? Is it meaningless, or does it depend on the circumstances?

Edwards: “I like to look at every matchup as unique, but when a head coach is cashing tickets at that sort of frenetic clip, it’s hard not to take that into account. Malzahn went 2-0 ATS as a road favorite last year at Auburn and 0-1 as a road ‘chalk’ in his lone season at Arkansas State.

“Kansas State has also thrived in the home underdog role under Bill Snyder, going 10-4 ATS in its last 14 such spots. (The stat goes back to 2004, excluding the three seasons under Ron Prince.)

Did we learn anything about Nick Marshall’s development as a passer in his partial game against Arkansas and against San Jose State, or do we need to see more?

Edwards: “I don’t think we can form any hard conclusions on Nick Marshall’s improvement as a passer so far. He only attempted six throws against Arkansas and 19 vs. San Jose State.”

The line has crept up a half-point or a point in a few places in favor of Auburn since it opened. Do you think there is any real value on either side here, either in your own opinion or from what you’ve noticed out of Vegas?

Edwards: “I made Auburn an 8.5-point favorite with a total of 64, so no, I don’t see much value anywhere barring a big line move between now and kickoff. This is going to be an electric crowd and big-time atmosphere for sure, but it won’t be anything Auburn isn’t already accustomed to with other SEC road assignments. This is just going to be a game I watch in hopes of finding an attractive play at halftime.”

The Play: Stay away.