UMass Minutemen vs New Mexico State Aggies Prediction, 8/26/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UMass Minutemen vs New Mexico State Aggies

Date: Saturday, August 26, 2023

Location: Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, NM

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Aggies (-8)

Total/Over-Under: 45

Aggie Memorial Stadium is the location where the New Mexico State Aggies (7-6 last year) will attempt to beat the UMass Minutemen (1-11 last season) on Saturday, August 26, 2023. UMass opens this contest as 8-point underdogs from oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 45.

The UMass Minutemen finished the year with a 1-11 record. The last time they took the field, the Minutemen faced the Army Black Knights and took a loss by a score of 44-7. Ellis Merriweather led the offense in rushing for the Minutemen with 5 attempts for 49 yards (9.8 yds per attempt). Brady Olson went 13/24 with 145 yds passing. He had a quarterback rate of 88.3 and ended the game with 2 picks. In the running game, the Minutemen gave up 329 yards on 56 tries, which is an average of 5.9 yards per run surrendered. UMass surrendered 2 pass completions on 5 attempts for a total of 67 yards, and a completion percentage of 40.0%. In the game, they tallied 56 plays which gave them 235 yds. The UMass Minutemen ended up running the ball 31 different times and amassed 90 yds, which had them averaging 2.9 yds per carry.

In terms of scoring points, the UMass Minutemen were sitting at 12.5 points per contest. As a team they held an average of 148.8 yards on the ground, which was 68th in Division 1. The Minutemen earned 3,190 total yards for the previous season. UMass totaled 4 touchdowns via the pass and 10 touchdowns via the ground. UMass accrued 175 1st downs as an offense, and they committed 91 infractions for 800 yards. They gave the ball to the opposition 20 times.

When talking about yards via the pass, the Minutemen conceded 2,104 yards which had them ranked 5th in the nation. During their 12 games played last year, they relinquished 175.3 yards per outing through the air as well as allowing a completion percentage of 53.8%. They conceded 369.6 yards per game putting them at 55th in Division 1. They yielded 17 passing touchdowns in addition to 29 touchdowns on the ground. The opposition ran for an average of 5.0 yards per rush and 194.3 yards on the ground per game throughout last year. Over the course of last season, they gave up 2,332 yards via the ground game in 12 games. The Minutemen were ranked 104th in the country regarding the opposition scoring, conceding 31.1 points per game.

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The Aggies wrapped up their year having a 7-6 mark. In their last game, the Aggies walked away with a victory by a final of 24-19 when they faced the Bowling Green Falcons. Ahmonte Watkins carried the football 9 times for 76 yds, finishing the game with 8.4 yards per attempt for New Mexico State. Diego Pavia (2 TDs) ended the game with 167 yards on 17/29 through the air while his QB rate was 122.9. He threw 1 pick and his average yards per pass attempt was 5.8. New Mexico State gave up 21 rush attempts for 73 yards (3.5 yds per rush). The Aggies pass defense gave up a completion percentage of 61.5%, surrendering 225 yds on 16 out of 26 through the air. The Aggies finished with 407 yards while they ran 70 plays (5.8 yards per play). New Mexico State ran for 5.9 yds per carry, finishing with a total of 240 yards on 41 attempts.

In terms of their scoring prowess, the Aggies were 82nd in D-1 scoring 25.5 points per contest. Last year, the Aggies compiled 2,200 yards via the pass as well as an average of 169.2 passing yards per contest, giving them a rank of 120th in the country. The New Mexico State Aggies maintained an average of 330.6 yards/game, which was good for 109th in Division 1. The New Mexico State offense totaled 736 yds of penalties on 85 infractions, which ranked 41st in the country in terms of hurting your team.

New Mexico State conceded a total of 1,944 yards via the ground game (149.5 yards per contest) and 21 touchdowns rushing throughout last year. They allowed the opposition 14 touchdowns through the air as well as 186.8 yards per outing, which had them in 16th in the nation. The Aggies defense participated in 872 plays, which had them ranked 70th in D-1. The Aggies conceded 23.9 points per game, which had them sitting 47th in D-1. In total, they relinquished 311 points in total.

Who will win tonight's Minutemen/Aggies college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Aggies -8

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