UTEP Miners vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 08/26/2023

Game Time: 5:30 pm ET, Saturday, August 26, 2023

Venue:  Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium, Jacksonville, AL

Where to Watch:  CBS Sports

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UTEP -1, JSU +1; Over/Under:  53.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UTEP -1, JSU +1; Over/Under:  54 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UTEP -1, JSU +1; Over/Under:  54.5 points

UTEP Miners:  0-0 (C-USA)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  0-0 (C-USA)

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UTEP Miners:  N/A

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  N/A

UTEP finished last season with a 5-7 record overall and they had a 3-5 record in their conference games too.  They were 4-2 in their home games, 1-5 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 24.4 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 27 points per game. Their offense also averaged 384.8 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 352.5 yards per game. Gavin Hardison led the team in passing yards with 2044, Ronald Awatt led the team in rushing yards with 734, and Tyrin Smith led the team in receiving yards with 1039.

 

 

 

Jacksonville State finished last season with a 9-2 record overall and they had a 5-0 record in their conference games as they are coming up from the FCS and playing their debut season in division 1.  They were 3-1 in their home games, 4-1 in their road games, and they were also 2-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 36.2 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 22.9 points per game. Their offense also averaged 423.6 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 389.7 yards per game. Zion Webb led the team in passing yards with 1737, Anwar Lewis led the team in rushing yards with 840, and Sterling Galban led the team in receiving yards with 433.

The current betting odds have Jacksonville State listed as a 1 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Jacksonville State is coming up from the FCS and playing their 1st season in the FBS this year but they were very good in their conference last season and they have every right to be in division 1 now. UTEP wasn't great last season as they finished under .500 and even missed out on a bowl game as they took a big step back from the year before and they will not be any better this season either. Jacksonville State has a really strong team and they are going to have the home advantage in this game where they are very good. They are also going to have a point to prove this season in their 1st year of FBS as they won't be eligible to really win anything but they can definitely set the tone by letting everyone in the conference know to watch out for this team going forward as they will be a threat. The best way to place a bet here is on Jacksonville State to cover the spread in this game.

UTEP Jacksonville State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, August 26, 2023 (5:30 pm ET start time) is JSU 38 UTEP 21.

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UTEP Miners: 20-32 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. 7-19 ATS in a road game where the total is between 52.5 and 56. 7-1 UNDER when the line is +3 to -3. 6-2 UNDER in the first month of the season. 

Jacksonville State Gamecocks: 7-5 ATS as an underdog. 5-1 UNDER in the first two weeks of the season. 6-4 UNDER as an underdog.

UTEP Miners:  A. Dumas (RB) Out indefinitely - Eligibility.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  P. Wells (WR) Early Oct - Undisclosed.

"They have a quarterback run game and he does a great job, he's a really good athlete. They have a bunch of backs who are good and they run the ball a lot. That's what they do, they are going to run the football, that's what they pride themselves on.” - Dana Dimel on his upcoming opponents in his team’s 1st game of the college football season. 

"We've talked about that. Alabama and Auburn, we'll play them every year as long as they give us $2 million apiece. If they want to play the spring game and give us a million, we'll play them in our spring game. Maybe even play them for a half a million, but I don't know if that's going to happen. But there's other teams." - Rich Rodriguez on supporting more in-state matchups during the college football season.

WR Ballard, Jeremiah 

WR Akharaiyi, Kelly 

WR Smith, Tyrin 

TE Fryar, Zach 

QB Hardison, Gavin 

RB Hankins, Deion 

FB Lopez, Julian 

WR Wells, P.J. 

WR Joiner, Jamarye 

WR Galban, Sterling 

TE Brown, Sean 

QB Webb, Zion 

RB Jackson, Malik 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

UTEP Miners: Dana Dimel (6th season)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks: Rich Rodriguez (2nd season)