Wednesday Night College Football: New Mexico St Aggies vs. Jacksonville St Gamecocks
The College Football season is heating up, and this week, we have some early midweek Wednesday Night College Football. Last night, we watched a great matchup between the Liberty Flames and FIU Panthers, which came down to Liberty needing a late-game touchdown to win and remain unbeaten.
Tonight, we have New Mexico State (1-4, 0-2 Conference USA) getting ready to lock horns with Jacksonville State (2-3, 1-0 CUSA). The teams will face off in the first of three consecutive weekday games at 7.30 p.m. ET.
Under the expert guidance of Coach Rich Rodriguez, the Gamecocks have created a stir in the CUSA. Fresh off a 63-24 win over Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State has everything to play for this season. Highlights include stellar performances from senior quarterback Tyler Huff, ranking third in CUSA with 1,073 passing yards and an impressive 445 rushing yards.
Despite a season-high in points and total yards during their last encounter, New Mexico State is grappling with a porous defense that allowed 50 points against New Mexico. The Aggies feel the sting of their fourth consecutive loss and will be desperate to save face.
Compounding the Aggies’ woes, the team will be without offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tyler Wright, whose lingering investigation casts a dark shadow over the team.
Nevertheless, it’s not all doom and gloom. Last season, NM State managed to pull off a 20-17 victory over JSU in Las Cruces, proving they can hold their own against the Gamecocks.
Two key factors that could significantly influence the outcome of this game include JSU’s limited preparation time due to their recent game on Friday and the under-performing Aggies’ quarterback lineup.
Jacksonville State is, however, no stranger to a short turnaround. It went 2-1 last season with less than a full week of preparation.
Another noteworthy observation is that both teams’ defenses rank in the bottom half of yards allowed per game among CUSA teams. Jacksonville State’s increased turnover rate (10 takeaways over its last two contests) suggests they pose a challenging front for the Aggies.
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This is a relatively complex Wednesday Night College Football game to handicap. Yes, Jacksonville State should win, and yes, New Mexico State should struggle because of a lack of quarterback, but why is this line 20.5 points?
Is it because the Gamecocks are going on a five-day turnaround, and that may affect them? Maybe. Or is it because New Mexico State has nearly two weeks to prepare for this game? Maybe.
Bottom line, we think New Mexico State is good for 3 touchdowns in this game. Jacksonville State doesn’t have a great offense, and while the Gamecocks should win, they don’t hold this Aggies offense under 3 touchdowns, even with their QB/Offensive situation.
We don’t care who wins, we just want the Aggies to score 17.5 points. Jump on this play from our friends at BetOnline now and get a 50% welcome bonus!