Friday Night Lights
Minnesota (-20.5) at Maryland
Minnesota opened their 2020 season with a 49-24 beating at the hands of Michigan, while Maryland got routed, 43-3, by Northwestern. Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan went 18 of 31, throwing for 197 yards, with a score and a pick. Rashod Bateman was the top receiver, pulling in nine passes for 101 yards.
Maryland only got a 14-of-25 passing performance from Taulia Tagovailoa, with 94 yards and three picks. Lance LeGendre came on in relief and went 4 of 4 for 49 yards. It’s hard to imagine Maryland looking as dreadful in their second game as they did in their opener, but Minnesota should come in with plenty of motivation after their disappointing opener.
East Carolina (+18.5) at Tulsa
The Pirates fell to Navy this past weekend, 27-23, and now have a 1-3 record on the season. Quarterback Holton Ahlers has 673 yards on the season, with a 6:4 TD:INT ratio. The top receivers are Tyler Snead and C.J. Johnson. Rahjai Harris is the leading rusher, with 330 yards and three scores through four games.
Tulsa leads the AAC West with a 2-0 conference record, giving them thte best odds to the win the division. They followed up their upset win at UCF with a 42-13 rout of USF last week. Zach Smith has 671 passing yards and a 5:3 TD:INT ratio. Corey Taylor II and Deneric Prince have combined for 460 rushing yards in the team’s three games to this point. Kendarin Ray and Zaven Collins have each posted 22 tackles to tie for the team lead. Collins also has two interceptions.
The Pick: Tulsa and Minnesota to win and cover
Brunch Special (noon eastern)
Georgia (-14.5) at Kentucky (O/U 45)
Georgia sits at 3-1 and comes out of their bye week to take on Kentucky in their first action after a 41-24 loss to Alabama two weeks ago. Kentucky has beaten Mississippi State and Tennessee and lost to Auburn, Ole Miss and Missouri. Georgia had shown a stifling defense until the second half against Alabama, and the three interceptions that Stetson Bennett threw against the Tide didn’t help matters either.
Kentucky has been wildly inconsistent so far this season, with controversial losses to Auburn and Ole Miss. There was nothing controversial about their loss to Missouri, as quarterback Terry Wilson only managed one scoring pass, and the top rusher, Chris Rodriguez, managed just 48 yards on nine attempts. Which Wildcat team will take the field on Saturday?
Michigan State (+25) at Michigan
Rutgers had not won a Big Ten game since November 21, 2017, when they beat Maryland. They had a 21-game losing streak in conference play until they went to Michigan State and picked up a win in their opener. Michigan State also has not beaten a ranked team since October 2018, but the post-Mark Dantonio era in East Lansing did not open well at all. With that said, Michigan State won’t turn the ball over seven times again — and the Spartans have covered five times in their last six meetings against the Wolverines.
Next up is a trip across the state to take on a Michigan team that dominated Minnesota in their opener. Michigan has won six of their last seven at home, and quarterback Joe Milton threw for 225 yards and a score in their win. The running game is the key, as they ran for 256 yards against Minnesota, led by the 82 yards and two scores from Hassan Haskins.
The pick: Michigan State to cover / Georgia and Kentucky to go under the point total
Prime Time Parlay
Arkansas (+10) at Texas A&M
Arkansas has now beaten both Mississippi and Mississippi State, and now they have their sights set on the Aggies. Transfer quarterback Feleipe Franks has thrown for 974 yards with an 8:3 TD:INT ratio. Treylon Burks and De’Vion Warren have combined for 580 receiving yards and five touchdowns in four games. On defense, Hudson Clark leads the team with three picks, and Greg Brooks Jr and Joe Foucha have two picks each, as Arkansas has made defense a priority again after the departure of former head coach Chad Morris.
The Aggies followed up their big win over Florida with a victory over Mississippi State. Kellen Mond has a 9:2 TD:INT ratio and 984 passing yards, and Isaiah Spiller leads the team with 430 rushing yards, along with four touchdowns. Buddy Johnson leads the Aggies with 42 total tackles (17 solo).
Oklahoma (-14.5) at Texas Tech
Oklahoma comes in with a 3-2 record after rolling over TCU this past weekend. Texas Tech is 2-3, with wins over Houston Baptist and West Virginia — and losses to Texas, Kansas STate and Iowa State. Oklahoma made it back into the AP Top 25 this week (#24) after walloping TCU
In their win over West Virginia this last week, Red Raiders quarterback Henry Colombi threw for 169 yards and a score, with Myles Price and SaRodorick Thompson his top two targets. Can the Red Raiders hang with Oklahoma — at least close enough to cover that big spread?
The Pick: Oklahoma and Texas A&M to win and cover
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