The FIU Panthers and Jacksonville State Gamecockss do battle Wednesday night October 25 in week 9 college football action from Riccardo Silva Stadium.

Jacksonville State Gets 6th Win

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks come into this game on the heels of a 20-17 win over Western Kentucky last time out to improve to 6-2 on the year, a win that would’ve made Jacksonville State bowl eligible had it not been for Jacksonville State’s transition to FBS prohibiting them from playing a bowl game. Logan Smothers has thrown for 642 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 57.3% passing while Zion Webb’s thrown for 639 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 INTs. Malik Jackson has rushed for a team-high 578 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns, while Webb has 335 rushing yards and Smothers has 253 rushing yards. Perry Carter has a team-high 20 receptions for 352 receiving yards, while another three Gamecocks have 100+ receiving yards on the year. On defense, Quae Drake has a team-high 56 total tackles while Fred Perry has 52 total tackles and Chris Hardie and Kamari Stephens each have a team-high 3.5 sacks. As a unit, Jacksonville State has combined for 25 sacks and 11 interceptions this season.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks Team Facts

• Jacksonville State has won four of its last five games.
• Jacksonville State has covered the spread in four of its last five October games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Jacksonville State has lost the first half in three of its last four games against conference opponents.
• Twelve of Jacksonville State’s last 16 games have gone UNDER the total points line.

FIU Escapes Sam Houston State

The FIU Panthers managed to pull off a come from behind win against Sam Houston State, taking out the Bearkats last time out by a final score of 33-27 in double OT, to improve to 4-4 on the year. Keyone Jenkins has thrown for 1,664 yards, 6 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on 59.8% passing, while Shomari Lawrence has rushed for a team-high 435 yards with 4 touchdowns and Kejon Owens has 357 rushing yards with 5 TDs. Kris Mitchell leads FIU with 43 receptions for 711 yards and 5 touchdowns while Dean Patterson has 309 receiving yards and two more receivers have 200+ receiving yards as well on the year. On defense, Donovan Manuel has a team-high 79 total tackles while Alex Nobles has 3.5 sacks and CJ Christian has 3 interceptions.

Florida International Panthers Team Facts

• Florida International has lost 11 of its last 12 home games against conference opponents.
• Florida International has failed to cover the spread in each of its last seven matches when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• Florida International has lost the first half in 11 of its last 12 home games against conference opponents.
• Five of Florida International’s last six games after coming off overtime have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Jacksonville State rank 24th among FBS teams for points allowed per game this season (19.1).
• Jacksonville State has recorded the equal-most home wins by a margin of three points or less of any FBS team this season (2).

Chris’ Pick

I’m looking at Jacksonville State here. Do I love laying more than a touchdown on the road? Not really, but Jacksonville State’s offense is far better than FIU’s, and is built to exploit FIU’s bigger weakness defensively, as they’re 117th in the country in rush defense. FIU just doesn’t score a lot, and they only had 20 points at the end of regulation in a game against Sam Houston State that one could easily argue that FIU should’ve lost. I’ll roll with Jacksonville State to win this one and get the cover, something in the ballpark of 28-17. Give me the Gamecocks.