Liberty Flames vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles Prediction, 9/3/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Liberty Flames vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Date: Saturday, September 3, 2022

Location: M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, MS

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Golden Eagles (+4)

Total/Over-Under: 55.5

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles (3-9 last year) are hosting the Liberty Flames (8-5 last season) at M. M. Roberts Stadium on Saturday. Southern Miss is 4-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 55.5.

The Liberty Flames finished the year with a 8-5 record. In their last matchup, the Flames faced the Eastern Michigan Eagles and went home with a win by a final score of 56-20. Malik Willis went 13/24 with 231 yards passing and 3 TDs. He had a quarterback rating of 176.3 and finished the contest without throwing an interception. TJ Green led the offense in rushing for the Flames with 8 carries for 88 yards (11.0 yds per attempt). The Liberty Flames ran the football 36 times and amassed 227 yards, earning them an average of 6.3 yards per attempt. In the game, they ran 62 plays which converted into 522 yds. Liberty surrendered 28 pass completions on 44 tries for a total of 254 yards, and a completion percentage of 63.6%. Against the run, the Flames conceded 125 yds on 39 tries, which averages out to 3.2 yds per run surrendered.

When it comes to scoring points, the Liberty Flames held an average of 33.6 PPG. As a team they had an average of 180.3 yards rushing, ranking them 49th in the nation. The Flames tallied 5,659 total yards for the prior season. Liberty compiled 33 touchdowns through the air and 25 touchdowns on the ground. Liberty recorded 294 1st downs, and they committed 92 infractions for 865 yards. They turned the football over 22 times.

When talking about yards through the air, the Flames allowed 2,344 yds which ranked them 10th in the country. Over the course of their 13 games, they conceded 180.3 yards per contest through the air and allowed a completion percentage of 56.6%. They allowed 320.2 yards/game ranking them 12th in D-1. They yielded 14 passing touchdowns and 20 touchdowns on the ground. They gave up an average of 3.5 yards per tote and 139.9 rushing yards per game last year. Overall, they gave up 1,819 yards via the running game in 13 games. The Flames sat in 26th in the country concerning team defense, allowing 21.5 points per game.

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The Golden Eagles wrapped up their season with a 3-9 mark. The last time they took the field, the Golden Eagles went home victorious with a score of 37-17 when they faced the FIU Panthers. Frank Gore Jr. (2 TDs) finished the game with 81 yds on 4/5 passing while his quarterback rating was 348.1. He didn't throw any interceptions and his average yards per attempt was 16.2. Dajon Richard ran the football 16 times for 107 yards, finishing the contest with 6.7 yards per attempt for Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles finished the game with 444 yards on 53 plays (8.4 yards per play). Southern Miss rushed the ball for 7.5 yds per carry, totaling 322 yds on 43 carries. Southern Miss gave up 35 rush attempts for 160 yards (4.6 yards per carry). The Golden Eagles passing defense allowed a completion rate of 54.2%, relinquishing 231 yards on 13 for 24 through the air.

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles averaged 266.4 yards/game, which was good for 127th in the nation. The Southern Miss offense racked up 750 yards of penalties on 97 violations, which ranked 17th in college football in terms of giving up free yards. Last season, the Golden Eagles threw for 1,746 passing yards as well as an average of 145.5 passing yards per outing, which had them ranked 125th in D-1. When looking at how much they scored, the Golden Eagles had a ranking of 122nd in Division 1 holding an average of 17.7 points per outing.

The Golden Eagles gave up 27.9 points per game, which had them in 80th in college football. Southern Miss allowed a total of 1,879 yards on the ground (156.6 yards per outing) in addition to 16 touchdowns by way of the ground game last season. Last season, they gave up 335 points in total. They gave up 16 touchdowns through the air in addition to 202.0 yards/game, which had them ranked 25th in the country. The Golden Eagles defense took the field for 739 plays, which had them sitting 4th in Division 1.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Golden Eagles +4

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