Hawaii Rainbow Warriors -1.5 vs Wyoming Cowboys
In addition to the Big Ten getting under last week, so did the Mountain West. So with limited data based on one game, it can be somewhat difficult to peg down the real teams from the pretenders. Hawaii won the Mountain West Conference’s West Division and kicked off the 2020 campaign with a 34-19 victory at Fresno State, while Wyoming was edged out 37-34 on the road at Nevada.
The Rainbow Warriors moved the ball effectively in their victory collecting 552 total yards and dual-threat QB Chevan Cordeiro threw for 229 yards while rushing for 116 and two touchdowns. The Cowboys’ secondary was picked on in their opening game surrendering 420 yards through the air, but created two fumbles on the ground. Cordeiro will have to capitalize on this secondary to give Hawaii the win.
Michigan State Spartans vs Michigan Wolverines -24.5
One of the laughing stocks of the Big Ten recently has been the Rutgers Scarlet Knights but they started 2020 on the right foot with a 38-27 road win over Michigan State. Meanwhile, the Spartans’ in-state rival Michigan went to No. 21 Minnesota in Week 1 and walked away with a 49-24 statement victory. Is this finally the year the Wolverines can compete with the Buckeyes?
Turnovers were the big issue for the Spartans giving up possession eight times, including turnovers on downs. Defensively they were ok surrendering just 276 yards but Michigan also created three turnovers on Minnesota, including a fumble return touchdown. It’ll be interesting how Wolverines’ running back Hassan Haskins works against the Spartans’ run defense. In the end, though, I think Michigan wins big again.
Temple Owls +4 vs Tulane Green Wave
Betting on two teams with losing records can be a daunting task on which bad team is better or worse. For Temple (1-2), its lone win came at home, while the two defeats were road contests. As for Tulane (2-4), it beat up on out of conference teams but is 0-4 withing AAC play.
Both teams are similar offensively and defensively, while each teams’ strength offensively is the other teams’ weakness defensively. The Green Wave surrender 324.3 passing yards per game and the Owls average 299.3 passing yards per game, while Tulane picks up 214.2 rushing yards per game and Temple allows 190 rushing yards per game. I think Temple overall is the better team and senior QB Anthony Russo should be able to have success through the air consistently enough to cover.
Rice Owls vs Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles OVER 56.5
Finally, after having three games postponed Rice got to play its first game last week, though, it didn’t go as planned falling 40-34 in double overtime to Middle Tennessee. Similarly, Southern Mississippi was off for a couple of weeks after two games were postponed due to the coronavirus and returned to the field last week only to get beat down 56-35 at Liberty.
Of the Golden Eagles’ five games this year, they have had an average combined score of 73.4 and only one game went UNDER 56.5. Both teams have big issues on the defensive side of the ball with Rice giving up 40 points last week and Southern Miss averaging 43.2 points per game, though, both offenses also average over 400 yards of offense per game. No overthinking this one let’s roll with the points.
Charlotte 49ers vs Duke Blue Devils UNDER 56
An inept offense in Duke colliding with a fairly strong defense in Charlotte points directly to an UNDER in this matchup. The 49ers have held their opponents to 28 points or fewer in three of their four games this season, though, they were playing against Conference USA squads and the Blue Devils are in the more competitive ACC.
That said, Duke is in the basement of the ACC, averaging a paltry 21.3 points per game. scoring more 21 or more points just twice in six games. The Blue Devils will also be without their best cornerback Mark Gilbert as he has opted out for the season with sites on the NFL and their center Will Taylor suffered a knee injury. I think these teams match up fairly evenly and will likely just balance each other out in a slog of a game.
