College Football

South Alabama vs Southern Miss 9/4/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

Southern Miss Golden Eagles (0-0) vs. South Alabama Jaguars (0-0)
September 4, 2021 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: South Alabama Jaguars +1.5 / Southern Miss Golden Eagles -1.5; Over/Under: 52.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The South Alabama Jaguars meet the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in week 1 college football action from Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday.

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles will look to bounce back in 2021 following a disappointing 2020 season after a 3-7 mark including a 2-4 record in C-USA conference play. The starting QB gig appears to be Trey Lowe’s to lose as Jack Abraham and Tate Whatley both transferred out after being on last year’s squad. Tee Webb will likely get his chances as a dual-threat QB option for USM, but it’s going to be Lowe to start. Frank Gore Jr. and Darius Maberry combine to form USM’s 1-2 punch in the backfield, with Gore Jr. logging 708 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground last season. Jason Brownlee is back as the top receiver after logging 34 receptions for 610 yards and 5 TDs while Demarcus Jones and Antoine Robinson each have veteran experience to bring to the table for Southern Miss. Defensively, Terence Cherry and Dominic Quewon come back on the ends after combining for 5.5 sacks last year while Tahj Sykes provide some size at the nose tackle position. Hayes Maples is back after putting up 91 tackles and 8 TFLs last season while Santrell Latham had a team-high 4 sacks. Malik Shorts had 81 tackles while Natrone Brooks helps bolster the Golden Eagles’ secondary as well in 2021. As a team, Southern Miss averaged 25.3 PPG and allowed 32.3 PPG last season.

The South Alabama Jaguars will be out to bounce back from a 4-7 mark in 2020 under new head coach Kane Wommack. Jake Bentley comes in to push Desmond Trotter for the starting QB job and whoever gets the start under center will have the tools to succeed right away. Jalen Tolbert is a big and strong home run threat while Jalen Wayne and Cade Sutherland give USA a trio of tall, strong receivers. Leading rusher Carlos Davis is dealing with a suspension, so it’s up to Terrion Avery to take the leap after putting up 180 rushing yards last season, sitting second on the Jaguars in that regard but don’t be surprised if Jared Wilson ends up as the starting running back for the Jaguars either this season. Defensively, there’s a good chance that a lot of USA’s depth in the tackling department comes back including Nick Mobley up from who had 94 tackles last season. The secondary will need work though, but Devin Rockette is expected to lead the group after putting up a pair of interceptions and Keith Gallmon is a power-hitter that can do it all but will be needed to be given the chance to do so. As a team, South Alabama averaged 19.9 PPG while allowing 27.3 PPG last season.

Southern Miss is 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games in the month of September while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 road games. South Alabama is 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 week 1 matchups while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 September games.

Simply put, I want nothing to do with either of these teams as both struggled to put points on the board for much of the season last year. However, I’m struggling to see how Southern Miss could be favored on the road when South Alabama is at home and brought in a guy like Jake Bentley to upgrade at QB. I just don’t like what I’m seeing from Southern Miss so I’ll take the free point with South Alabama as an early-season gift.

Chris Ruffolo's Free Pick: South Alabama +1.5

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Chris Ruffolo

Chris joined the Sports Chat Place team in August 2016 and has a proven system that combines multiple analytical and situational statistics and trends to give out thousands of winning picks over the last three years with winning records across all of the top leagues, Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg

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