South Alabama Jaguars vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles Prediction, 9/3/2020 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: South Alabama Jaguars vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020

Location: M. M. Roberts Stadium

TV: CBS Sports

Odds/Point Spread: South Alabama (+14)

Total/Over-Under: 50

M. M. Roberts Stadium is the venue where Jack Abraham and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles will play the South Alabama Jaguars on Thursday. The odds on this contest have Southern Miss as 14-point favorites. The over/under opens at 50.

In their last contest of 2019, the South Alabama Jaguars went up against the Arkansas State Red Wolves and were on the winning end of this game by a score of 34-30. Taking the lead at quarterback for the Jaguars was Desmond Trotter who went 20/31 with 279 yards via the pass and completed 4 touchdowns. He threw 1 interception for this game. Tra Minter led the team on the ground for that game. He had a long run of 18 yards and he notched 1 TD for this game. He ran for 106 yards by way of 21 carries which meant he averaged 5.0 yards per run. Jalen Tolbert led the team in receiving yardage by racking up 144 yards on 5 receptions. He earned an average of 28.8 yards per reception for that game.

The Jaguars come into this matchup after a record of 2-10 for last year. In terms of scoring, they were one of the worst in the country averaging 18.4 points per contest, which had them at 121st in the nation. As a unit, they had an average of 171.4 rushing yards per contest which was 7th in the Sun Belt. For total yardage, they sat in 10th in the Sun Belt and 118th in the nation with 3,964 yards. They are a team that struggled to put points on the board in the conference and they will need to step up if they want to have a good offensive output.

The Jaguars had one of the most lackluster defenses in the country allowing 30.7 points per contest, ranking them 5th in the Sun Belt Conference and 89th in Division 1. When it comes to passing yards, the Jaguars allowed 1,906 yards. Teams completed 64.4% of the throws they attempted against them and averaged 8.0 yards per attempt.In discussing rushing yards, South Alabama gave up 192.3 yards per game which had them at 6th in the Sun Belt Conference and 97th in the country. They allowed teams to run for an average of 4.4 yards per carry ranking them 5th in the Sun Belt and 79th in D-1 overall. Overall, they conceded 2,308 rushing yards through 12 contests.

In their last contest last season, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles took the field against the Tulane Green Wave and left there with a loss by a score of 30-13. Trivenskey Mosley led the team in rushing for the game. He tore off a long run of 12 yards but wasn't able to convert a rushing touchdown. He ran for 43 yards on 7 carries which meant he averaged 6.1 yards per run. Quez Watkins was the leader in receiving yardage by earning 154 yards on 9 catches. He notched an average of 17.1 yards per catch for the game. Running the show from under center for the Golden Eagles was Jack Abraham who went 17/23 with 167 yards through the air and threw 1 TD. He walked away with no picks.

The Golden Eagles head into this game after finishing last season 7-6. Southern Miss needs to do more to make teams respect their running game because they averaged 117.8 yards per contest, which had them at 121st in college football. As a unit, they compiled a total of 1,531 yards rushing through 13 games, so they are going to want to make some changes to the ground game if they want to make teams respect them. The Golden Eagles averaged 407.3 yards per game overall which had them at 62nd in the country and 6th in Conference USA. When looking at their ability to score points, the Golden Eagles ranked 5th in C-USA and 80th out of all the teams in the nation averaging 26.6 points per contest.

The Golden Eagles allowed 26.2 points per game ranking them 7th in Conference USA and 55th in college football. When it comes to points given up, they gave up 341 points in total. When it comes to yards on the ground, they allowed 115.8 yards per contest which put them at 18th in college football and 1st in C-USA. For the season, they allowed 1,505 yards on the ground. Their passing defense was one of the middling units in D-1. They allowed 236.7 passing yards per contest. For yards through the air allowed per game, the Golden Eagles sat in 10th in Conference USA. 

Who will win tonight's Jaguars/Golden Eagles college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Jaguars +14

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