Jacksonville State vs Southern Miss Prediction 9-21-24 College Football Picks

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks meet Saturday in college football action from Burgess-Snow Field. Here’s a Jacksonville State vs Southern Miss prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Jacksonville State vs Southern Miss pick.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles Betting Preview

Southern Miss’ 2024 season kicked off against Kentucky on August 31. The Eagles were overmatched in that one, ultimately falling 31-0. Southern Miss fared better in their second outing, however, eventually topping Southeastern Louisiana 35-10 for their first victory.

In the South Florida game last Saturday the Eagles kept a pretty good pace in the first half but faltered from there in a 49-24 loss. Tate Rodemaker finished on 120 pass yards and two scores. Leading the receivers was Tiaquelin Mims with six catches for 128 yards total.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks Betting Preview

Over on the Jacksonville State’s side, they had a couple of pretty rough performances in their first pair. The opener came versus Coastal Carolina and ended up a 55-27 Jacksonville State loss. Game two was against Louisville. The Gamecocks fell in that one 49-14.

In game three versus Eastern Michigan, the Gamecocks posted a fourth-quarter comeback but ended up falling 37-34 after two overtime periods. QB Tyler Huff logged 311 yards and two scores while also topping the rush with 14 carries for 80 yards.

Why the Jacksonville State Gamecocks will win

• Southern Miss has lost six of its last seven road games.
• The favorite has won eight of Southern Miss’ last nine games.
• The favorite has covered the spread in each of Southern Miss’ last four completed games.
• Southern Miss has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four September games as an underdog.
• Southern Miss has lost the first half in each of its last eight road games against non-conference opponents.

Why the Southern Miss Golden Eagles will win

• Jacksonville State has lost three of its last four games as a favorite.
• Southern Miss has won each of its last three games against opponents from the Conference USA.
• Jacksonville State has failed to cover the spread in each of its last five games.
• Southern Miss has covered the spread in each of its last four games against opponents from the Conference USA.
• Southern Miss has won the first half in four of its last five games against opponents from the Conference USA.
• Southern Miss has won the first quarter in four of its last five games against opponents from the Conference USA.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Southern Miss’ last seven completed games as an underdog has gone OVER the total points line.
• Seven of Jacksonville State’s last eight games have gone OVER the total points line.

Jacksonville State vs Southern Miss Prediction

I’ll stay with Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks are coming off a disappointing loss in a sloppy game (20 total penalties; nine from Jacksonville State) versus Eastern Michigan. The Gamecocks offense posted 423 total yards (311 passing) but went just 3-of-12 on third-down tries and held the ball for just 21:15 overall.

As for Southern Miss, they went an ugly 1-of-10 on third downs and had three turnovers in their loss to USF last weekend. I like the Eagles to clean things up in Saturday’s matchup but I don’t think they’ll quite cover.