LSU Tigers vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 9/4/2021 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: LSU Tigers vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Saturday, September 4, 2021

Location: Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Bruins (-17)

Total/Over-Under: 69.5

The LSU Tigers (5-5 last year) are en route to Rose Bowl on Saturday where they will take on the UCLA Bruins (3-4 last season). UCLA opens as 17-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 69.5.

The LSU Tigers wrapped up their year holding a 5-5 record. In their last matchup, the Tigers faced the Ole Miss Rebels and took home the win by a score of 53-48. Max Johnson was the rushing leader for the Tigers with 14 totes for 45 yards (3.2 yards per carry). Max Johnson went 27/51 with 435 yards through the air and 3 touchdowns. He had a QB rating of 140.1 and finished the game with 1 interception. Against the rush, the Tigers conceded 307 yds on 48 tries, which averages out to 6.4 yards per run allowed. LSU allowed 15 completions on 27 tries for a total of 251 yards, and a completion rate of 55.6%. When all was said and done, they had 94 plays which converted into 593 yards. The LSU Tigers rushed the ball a total of 43 times and accounted for 158 yards, which had them averaging 3.7 yards per carry.

The Tigers had 4,339 total yards for last season. They gave the ball to the opposition 13 different times. LSU totaled 24 passing touchdowns and 9 touchdowns on the ground. LSU accounted for 234 1st downs as a unit, and they were hurt by 61 infractions for 462 yards. As a unit they averaged 121.7 yards in the run game, which was 111th in the nation. In terms of getting in the endzone, the LSU Tigers had an average of 32.0 points per contest.

In terms of passing yardage, the Tigers conceded 3,230 yds which put them in 139th in college football. During their 10 games played, they conceded 323.0 yards per outing through the air and surrendering a completion percentage of 59.6%. They granted 492.0 yards/game which had them sitting 139th in Division 1. They gave up 24 passing touchdowns in addition to 18 rushing touchdowns. They allowed teams to run for an average of 4.9 yards per running attempt and 169.0 yards on the ground per game over the course of last season. Overall, they gave up 1,690 running yards through 10 games. The Tigers were sitting in 111th in Division 1 when it comes to team defense, conceding 34.9 points per contest.

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The Bruins ended the season holding a 3-4 record. The last time they took the field, the Bruins took a defeat with a final score of 48-47 against the Stanford Cardinal. Dorian Thompson-Robinson walked away from the contest with 65 yds on 8/12 passing while his quarterback rating was 112.2. He didn't throw any interceptions and his Y/A was 5.4. Brittain Brown ran the ball 29 times for 219 yds, finishing the game with 7.6 yds per attempt for UCLA. UCLA ran the ball for 5.7 yards per tote, finishing with 291 yards on 51 attempts. The Bruins finished the contest with a total of 483 yards while they ran 74 plays (6.5 yds per play). The Bruins pass defense allowed a completion percentage of 68.1%, relinquishing 428 yards on 32 out of 47 through the air. UCLA gave up 36 run attempts for 132 yards (3.7 yds per rush).

The UCLA Bruins held an average of 455.0 yards/outing which ranked them 21st in Division 1. They tossed 6 interceptions while allowing opponents to recover 7 fumbles and they recorded 172 first downs. They had an average of 230.6 yards per game on the ground and rushed for 1,614 yards in total. The UCLA offense racked up 374 yds of penalties on 48 violations, which had them sitting 72nd in the country in terms of giving up free yards. For the previous year, the Bruins racked up 1,571 passing yards along with averaging 224.4 passing yards per game, which ranked 68th in Division 1. When discussing this team's ability to score points, the Bruins had a ranking of 20th in the country with 35.4 PPG.

The Bruins gave up 30.7 PPG, which had them sitting 86th in the nation. Over the course of the season, they surrendered 215 points in total. UCLA conceded a total of 950 yards on the ground (135.7 yards per outing) in addition to 14 touchdowns by way of the ground game last year. They yielded 13 touchdowns through the air and 274.1 yards/outing, which had them in 129th in the country. The Bruins defense took the field for 527 plays, which was good for 57th in D-1. Their defense earned 2 fumbles and 9 picks for the prior year.

Who will win tonight's Tigers/Bruins college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Tigers -3.5

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