Week 1: Minnesota vs New Mexico State 9/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and New Mexico State Aggies square off Thursday night in week 1 of college football action at Huntington Bank Stadium. The New Mexico State Aggies look for a win after losing their season opener to Nevada. The Minnesota Golden Gophers won 9 games last year and enter year 6 under coach P.J. Fleck.

The New Mexico State Aggies haven’t won a road game since September 2018. Gavin Frakes is completing 69.2 percent of his passes for 143 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Justice Powers and Jordin Parker have combined for 133 receiving yards on 6 catches, while Kordell David has 7 receptions. The New Mexico State Aggies ground game is averaging 85 yards per contest, and Diego Pavia leads the way with 36 yards on 5 carries. Defensively, New Mexico State is allowing 23 points and 257 yards per game. Bryce Jackson leads the New Mexico State Aggies with 8 tackles, Lazarus Williams has 2 tackles for loss and Syrus Dumas has 1 pass deflection.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers averaged 25.5 points and 360 yards per game last season. Minnesota allowed an average of 17.3 points and 278.8 yards per game last season. Tanner Morgan returns at quarterback after throwing for 2,000 yards, 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Chris Autman-Bell and Michael Brown-Stephens are a returning receiving duo that combined for 900 yards and 7 touchdowns, while Trey Potts had 500 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively, Mariano Sori-Marin returns after finishing second on Minnesota with 85 tackles, Thomas Rush had 5.5 sacks and Tyler Nubin had 3 interceptions. Minnesota is loaded with experience on both sides of the ball, especially on offense at quarterback and the skill positions. The Golden Gophers did lose a lot of pass rushers and their leading tackler in Jack Gibbens, but there’s enough here to be a sneaky contender in the Big Ten. Not to mention, Fleck is one of the better coaches in the country. There’s a lot to be excited about with Minnesota.

The Aggies are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Golden Gophers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall. The over is 5-2 in Aggies last 7 games overall. The under is 4-0 in Golden Gophers last 4 home games.

The New Mexico State Aggies had a chance to knock the rust off, but they didn’t look great, and things don’t get any easier here as they now go on the road. The Minnesota Golden Gophers are a sneaky Big Ten contender given their depth on both sides of the ball, and they were covering machines for much of last season. This is a massive number, but it’s more of an indication of how bad New Mexico State is. Give me the Golden Gophers and the chalk.