NCAA Football Mid-Major Free Betting Picks: Utah State Aggies Week 3

It's Week 3 for the college football mid-major betting report. It might not be what motivated them last week, but Utah State certainly got some major revenge against New Mexico State last weekend. Utah State blasted New Mexico State 60-13 last Saturday. The Aggies are off to a strong start to the season.

I chose to follow the Utah State football program this year. The Aggies haven't had a winning season since 2014. They were 6-7 a year ago and lost a bowl game to New Mexico State. Utah State has lost their last eight games decided by a touchdown or less. They were on the cusp of breaking out last year but couldn't get over the hump. We'll see if they can do it this season. I'll be following beat writers, following players and coaches on Twitter, and reading the press conference transcripts to find information on the Aggies. I'll be looking to make myself an expert on this Utah State football team.

How have the selections on the mid-major betting report done overall? The overall record is 48 wins and 33 losses with a gain of $2,020. Last year, I followed the Marshall Thundering Herd as they tried to recover from a bad season in 2016. Marshall did have a nice bounce-back season, and the selections last year went 8-5 and we finished up $520. It was nice to have another strong season.

There will be a selection on each game at the end of the weekly article. We'll be using the Doc's Sports Unit Betting System for every pick , which will allow readers to follow along and track the results.

Last Game

Utah State dominated throughout in their 60-13 win over New Mexico State. Utah State benefited from five New Mexico State turnovers in this one. Utah State's rushing attack rolled up 274 yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry. That's a great sign for a team that has struggled running the ball consistently in the past. If Utah State can keep that kind of a rushing attack going, this offense will be extremely difficult to stop.

New Mexico State led 7-6 in the first quarter, but right after they scored to take the lead, Savon Scarver took a kickoff return 100 yards for a touchdown to put Utah State right back on top. They wouldn't lose that lead. Utah State led 33-10 at halftime, and Deante Fortenberry ran an interception back 75 yards for a touchdown early in third quarter to blow things wide open. David Woodward led the team with 13 tackles. Tipa Galeai, the highly-touted transfer from TCU, has been great early in the season for Utah State. Galeai had 1.5 sacks and six tackles overall.

If you are going to nitpick the Utah State performance last week, you would say Utah State made too many mistakes. They had 10 penalties in the contest, and they turned the ball over twice.

The play on Utah State -24 from last week's article cashed easily.

Notes of Interest

-Utah State has allowed only 4.66 yards per play through their first two games. That's very impressive when considering that one of those games was a road game against a good Michigan State team.

-Utah State has eight sacks already this year. The Aggies had only 24 sacks a year ago. Having Galeai getting after the passer is helping a great deal. He gets into the backfield often, and he takes pressure off the other guys.

-Brad Rock, writer at Deseret Sports, wrote about how impressive Utah State has been this season. Rock pointed out that the defense is second in the nation in forced turnovers as well. In that article, Matt Wells is quoted as saying, "So, trust me on this, there is a lot to clean up and be better at." Wells also spoke of the team's need to focus on one-game at a time and take care of business.

-Utah State plays Tennessee Tech, an FCS program, this weekend at home. Tennessee Tech is 0-2 on the season and has blowout losses against both Chattanooga and Kennesaw State.

Tennessee Tech at Utah State College Football Odds

Only one book is showing a line on this game right now. 5Dimes has Utah State -42.5 (-120) and the posted total is set at 61.5 (-120). There might be some other books offer a line on the day of the game.

Tennessee Tech at Utah State College Football Picks

I don't know enough about Tennessee Tech to want to make a selection on this one, especially when the juice is -120 on each side. Utah State should roll to a victory, but 42.5 points isn't something I won't lay very often at all. Utah State hosts Air Force next week, and Air Force will be off a bye, so that is a big game for both teams.

No Selection This Week

Season Results- 2 Wins 0 Losses (+$200)

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