New Mexico Lobos vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 8/31/2024 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New Mexico Lobos vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Saturday, August 31, 2024

Location: Arizona Stadium in Tucson, AZ

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Wildcats (-31)

Total/Over-Under: 58.5

The Arizona Wildcats (10-3 last year) will play the New Mexico Lobos (4-8 last season) at Arizona Stadium on Saturday, August 31, 2024. New Mexico opens this game as 31.0-point underdogs from oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 58.5.

The New Mexico Lobos ended the year having earned a 4-8 record. In their last matchup, the Lobos faced the Montana State Bobcats and took a loss by a score of 35-31. The New Mexico Lobos ran the rock 28 times and accounted for 152 yds, which had them averaging 5.4 yards per carry. In all, they had 54 plays which converted into 324 yards. New Mexico relinquished 21 pass completions on 32 tries for a total of 205 yds, and a completion rate of 65.6%. Against the run, the Lobos gave up 362 yards on 47 tries, which is an average of 7.7 yds per run surrendered.

The Lobos tallied 4,927 total yards over the course of last year. New Mexico amassed 17 touchdowns through the air and 26 rushing touchdowns. They turned the ball over 16 different times. New Mexico accumulated 280 1st downs offensively, and they were hurt by 119 penalties for 1076 yds. As a unit they averaged 192.7 yds on the ground, which was 20th in Division 1. Concerning getting in the endzone, the New Mexico Lobos had an average of 27.3 points per contest.

The Lobos were ranked 126th in D-1 when it comes to the opposition scoring, allowing 35.1 PPG. They gave up 5.1 yards per rushing attempt and 172.2 rushing yards per game last season. In total, they gave up 2,066 yards via the ground game in 12 games. Concerning yards through the air, the Lobos gave up 2,832 yds which had them sitting in 66th in the country. During their 12 games played last season, they allowed 236.0 yards per contest through the air and allowed a completion percentage of 61.3%. They allowed 408.2 yards/contest which put them 102nd in D-1. They gave up 24 passing touchdowns as well as 25 touchdowns on the ground.

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The Wildcats finished the season having earned a 10-3 mark. The last time they took the field, the Wildcats went home victorious with a score of 38-24 when they faced the Oklahoma Sooners. The Wildcats ended up finishing with 383 yds and they ran 64 plays (6.0 yards per play). Arizona ran the ball for 1.1 yds per carry, finishing the game with 29 yds on 26 carries. Arizona gave up 34 attempts on the ground for 201 yards (5.9 yards per rush). The Wildcats passing defense allowed a completion rate of 57.8%, relinquishing 361 yds on 26 out of 45 passing.

In relation to the points being put on the board, the Wildcats had a ranking of 19th in the country averaging 34.6 PPG. The Arizona Wildcats averaged 448.0 yards per contest, which had them ranked 20th in the nation. The Arizona offense racked up 689 yards of penalties on 82 infractions, which ranked them 37th in Division 1 in terms of helping out the opposition. They threw 10 picks while allowing opponents to recover 3 fumbles and they recorded 302 1st downs. For the previous season, the Wildcats earned 4,008 passing yards along with an average of 308.3 passing yards per contest, which ranked 8th in the country. They averaged 139.7 run yards per game and toted the ball for 1,816 yards for the year.

The Wildcats conceded 21.1 PPG, which had them ranked 30th in college football. Arizona surrendered a total of 1,537 yards via the ground game (118.2 yards per contest) as well as 20 touchdowns via the rush last season. Last season, they surrendered 274 points in total. They gave up 16 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 239.7 yards/game, which had them ranked 91st in the nation. The Wildcats defense participated in 855 plays, which was 71st in the country. They tallied 10 fumbles and 9 picks during the previous year.

Who will win tonight's Lobos/Wildcats college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Lobos +31.0

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