New Mexico vs Houston Baptist College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions 9/2/21

The New Mexico Lobos face the Houston Baptist Huskies Thursday in week 1 2021 college football action at Dreamstyle Stadium. Houston Baptist went 1-3 last season and all four of those games were on the road. New Mexico finished 2-5 last season and has won no more than three games the last four years.

The Houston Baptist Huskies averaged 33.7 points and 547.5 yards per game last season. Houston Baptist allowed an average of 47 points and 591.8 yards per game last season. Blaise Bentsen should take over at quarterback after one pass attempt last season. Ean Beek returns at running back after 137 yards on 40 carries while Vernon Harrell and DJ Dormeus is a receiving duo that combined for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Brennan Young had 42 tackles, Patrick Wolfe had two interceptions and Kenneth Kemp had three pass deflections. Houston Baptist lost a lot of production on both sides of the ball and it’s going to be interesting to see how this club responds. Houston Baptist took Texas Tech down to the wire last year and dropped 31 points against North Texas, so this team wasn’t a pushover. 

The New Mexico Lobos averaged 23.9 points and 393.7 yards per game last season. New Mexico allowed an average of 32.6 points and 447.1 yards per game last season. Trae Hall returns at quarterback after throwing for 500 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Bobby Cole is back after leading New Mexico with 500 rushing yards and six touchdowns while Andrew Erickson and Conner Kinslow is a receiving duo that combined for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Tavian Combs returns after finishing second on the Lobos with 51 tackles, Joey Noble had four sacks and Jerrick Reed II had four interceptions. New Mexico has questions to answer on the offensive side, but there’s so many playmakers returning defensively, we should see improvement this season. Last year, the Lobos averaged two sacks and almost an interception per game. New Mexico has a chance for a solid, underrated season in 2021.

This will be the third time since September of 2017, New Mexico has been a double-digit favorite. The Lobos aren’t a college football powerhouse, so even against FCS competition, I’m not running to the window to lay this sort of chalk. Also, the Houston Baptist Huskies gave Texas Tech a run for its money last season and hung 31 points on North Texas. Houston Baptist averaged over 500 yards of offense through four games. New Mexico should win, but this is a lot of points. Give me the Houston Baptist Huskies to be competitive.