Vaughn Dalzell breaks down the Wednesday matchup in Week 7 between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
Louisiana Tech at Middle Tennessee (-3): O/U 54.5
Middle Tennessee is 1-5 on the year but lost tough contests like a 23-19 road game at Missouri, a 31-23 home loss to Colorado State, and another loss in a home outing to Jacksonville State last week, 45-30.
The Blue Raiders have played some good teams and had some bad luck along the way to a disappointing start like the second half versus Jacksonville State, while it’s a different story for the Bulldogs.
Lousiana Tech is 1-3 since Jack Turner took over, losing to North Texas, Nebraska, and Western Kentucky. Turner has made two road starts at Nebraska and UTEP, scoring 14 and 24 points, which may not be enough at Middle Tennessee.
The Blue Raiders run 77.0 plays per game, which is 13th in the country while the Bulldogs are 75th at 68.2 plays per game.
Louisiana Tech’s plays per game dips to 59.7 plays on the road this year (119th) compared to the Blue Raiders’ plays increasing to 89.0 at home (2nd). That’s a significant difference in opportunities if those numbers hold up.
I played the Blue Raiders on the spread at -3 for -110 odds. I also played the ML at -137 odds, but once it went past -150 odds, I opted for the -3. This is a home revenge game too since Middle Tennessee lost 40-24 at Louisiana Tech last year.
Middle Tennessee will be a focused group entering a back-to-back home game. Last year, the Blue Raiders snapped out of a three-game losing streak then won five of the next six games, including the Hawai’i Bowl.
Pick: Middle Tennessee -3 (1u)
*Odds provided by BetMGM
Season Record: 32-18-1 (64%) +13.52u
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