FIU vs Middle Tennessee 11/26/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the FIU Panthers meet in Conference USA college football action from Riccardo Silva Stadium on Saturday evening.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will be out to build on back-to-back wins after a 49-21 win over FAU last time out. Chase Cunningham has thrown for 2,641 yards, 19 touchdowns and 9 interceptions on 67.2% passing while Frank Peasant has rushed for a team-high 692 yards and 9 TDs. Jaylin Lane leads Middle Tennessee with 769 receiving yards while Izaiah Gathings has 413 receiving yards along with 46 receptions and DJ England-Chisolm and Yusuf Ali each have 300+ receiving yards as well this season. On defense, Tra Fluellen has a team-high 88 total tackles including 47 solo tackles while Jordan Ferguson has 6.5 sacks as part of Middle Tennessee’s 31 sacks as a group this season. The Blue Raiders also have 13 interceptions this season.

The FIU Panthers will try to snap a three-game losing streak after a 40-6 loss at the hands of UTEP in their last game. Grayson James has thrown for 1,962 yards, 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 58.5% passing while Lexington Joseph leads FIU with 518 rushing yards and 5 TDs. Tyrese Chambers leads FIU with 51 grabs for 544 receiving yards while Kris Mitchell, Rivaldo Fairweather and Jalen Bracey each have 200+ receiving yards as well this season. On defense, Gaethan Bernadel has a team-high 90 total tackles with 49 solo tackles while Shaun Peterson Jr. has a team-high 5 sacks and Dorian Hall has a pair of interceptions as well for FIU’s defense this season.

Middle Tennessee is 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 games against a team with a losing record and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games on turf while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games following an ATS win. FIU is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record and 6-20 ATS in their last 26 conference games while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games following a loss.

I get the case to be made for a home underdog in some spots, but the FIU Panthers, don’t have a leg to stand on here. FIU was a terrible 4-4 team to begin with that kind of held out hope that maybe they could go bowling, but since then, have gone 0-3, losing by a combined score of 144-27 in their last three games. Now they have to take their sorry defense against a Middle Tennessee team that’s fully capable of lighting it up against the weaker teams in the conference. Give me the Blue Raiders in a rout.