FIU Panthers (1-1) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0)
September 18, 2021 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Texas Tech Red Raiders -21 ; Over/Under: 55.5
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders meet the FIU Panthers Saturday in week 3 college football action from Jones AT&T Stadium. FIU is coming off a matchup versus Texas State. In that game, the Panthers took a rough overtime loss. As for the Raiders, they played Stephen F. Austin in their second outing. Texas Tech got by with a five-point win there. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
FIU outscored LIU 20-0 in the second half of their opening game this season, cruising to a 48-10 blowout win. Quarterback Max Bortenschlager had 266 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while D’Vonte Price rumbled for 165 rush yards and three scores on five carries.
In game two versus Texas State, the Panthers had a lead going into the fourth quarter but couldn’t score from there in a 23-17 overtime defeat. Bortenschlager managed 259 yards and two touchdowns, and Price had another good outing with 111 yards on 23 carries.
Over on the Texas Tech side, they were down 21-7 at the break in their opener versus Houston but turned it on in the second half with 31 unanswered points for a 38-21 win. Quarterback Tyler Shough had 231 yards and a score while Tahj Brooks posted 134 yards and two rush touchdowns.
The Raiders played Stephen F. Austin this past weekend. Texas Tech was down 13-7 heading into the break but woke up in the second half with a 28-22 win. Shough had 163 yards with one TD and two interceptions and Brooks led the rush with 115 yards and two scores.
The Panthers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven in September and 2-6 ATS in their last eight road games. FIU is 1-5 ATS in their last six overall as well.
Meanwhile, the Raiders are 4-1 ATS in their last five against CUSA and 17-7-1 ATS in their last 25 in September. The under is 5-1 in Texas Tech’s last six overall.
PICK: I’m going to try FIU here, but probably staying away. The Panthers posted 400 total yards of offense in their loss last weekend, including 259 passing yards and 21 first downs. FIU’s major downfall was their three lost fumbles, and the eight penalties didn’t help either.
As for Texas Tech, they were great on rush defense in week two, holding SFA to just 32 rush yards and 4.3 yards per play. The Raiders only managed 11 first downs themselves though, and had four turnovers. Both teams are going to need to clean up their acts in game three, and I think FIU has a shot to get in there.
