Week 5: James Madison vs Texas State 10/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The James Madison Dukes and Texas State Bobcats clash Saturday in a week 5 college football Sun Belt contest from Bridgeforth Stadium.

The Texas State Bobcats will be looking to build on their 34-0 win over Houston Christian last time out to climb to 2-2 on the year. Layne Hatcher has thrown for 1,067 yards, 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on 62.9% passing while Calvin Hill leads the Bobcats with 307 rushing yards this season. Ashtyn Hawkins leads Texas State’s receiving group with 34 grabs for 308 yards and 5 touchdowns while four other receivers have at least 100 receiving yards this season. On defense, Sione Tupou leads the Bobcats with 30 total tackles including 18 solo tackles while Levi Bell has 26 total tackles and 2.5 sacks this season.

The James Madison Dukes will be looking to keep their strong start going after a 32-28 win over Appalachian State pushed the Dukes to 3-0 on the year. Todd Centelo has thrown for 656 yards and 11 touchdowns on 62.8% passing while also boasting a team-high 200 rushing yards while three other Dukes have at least 100 rushing yards as well this season. Kris Thornton leads JMU’s receiving group with 19 catches for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. On defense, Jalin Walker and Taurus Jones each have a team-high 18 total tackles while James Madison’s defense has 10 sacks as a unit this season.

Texas State is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 conference games while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 games overall. James Madison is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games following a win.

I get that this is a fairly big number to lay with James Madison, but the Dukes are playing with confidence and also playing with house money as there weren’t a ton of expectations for the Dukes, making the jump to FBS this season. Texas State had a decent start to the year and has a QB in Hatcher that can move the ball, but I just think the Dukes are the better team by a fair margin and they get the win and cover in this one. Lay it and play it with the Dukes here.