The South Dakota Coyotes and the Missouri Tigers meet Saturday in college football action from Faurot Field. The Coyotes are looking to bounce back after a rough campaign last year, going 3-8 overall record and a ninth-place finish in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. As for Missouri, they went a sketchy 6-7 last season and eventually lost in the Gasparilla Bowl to Wake Forest. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

South Dakota Coyotes 

The Coyotes continued to stumble last year, finishing 3-8 overall with a 2-6 mark in the MVFC. South Dakota failed to win consecutive games all year, and found themselves just two spots out of the basement in the standings by season’s end. The only three wins came courtesy of Cal Poly, Southern Illinois and Missouri State. 

South Dakota enters head coach Bob Nielson’s eighth year with plenty of optimism, but it remains to be seen whether or not the team will improve a whole lot. There are some positive signs, however: The Coyotes return a healthy amount of players from last year’s campaign including starting QB Aiden Bouman. Shomari Lawrence is gone from the backfield, but Travis Theis should be able to pick up the slack. 

Missouri Tigers 

Over on the Tigers’ side, they managed a less-than-stellar 6-7 record last year, posting a 3-5 mark in SEC play to finish above only Vanderbilt (2-6) in the East Division. Missouri played some tough opponents, which prevented the team from winning more than two consecutive games. In the end, Missouri’s season finished with a 27-17 loss to Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl. 

There’s reason to be excited about the Tigers’ chances to improve this season, as new offensive coordinator Kirby Moore should jazz up the passing game around a nice crop of receivers. Top man Dominic Lovett is gone, but Luther Burden, Mookie Cooper and Theo Wease should see plenty of work in his absence. Three starters are back on the offensive line as well; that’ll help cut down on those tackles for loss. 

Missouri Tigers Team Facts

Missouri has won each of its last 13 games against non-conference opponents at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
Missouri has covered the spread in four of its last five home openers.
Missouri has won the first half in each of its last 13 games against non-conference opponents at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
Missouri has won the first quarter in 11 of its last 13 games against non-conference opponents at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
Five of Missouri’s last six season openers have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

Missouri ranked T21st among FBS teams for Q2 win percentage last season (.615).
Missouri ranked 26th among FBS teams for Q2 points allowed per game last season (5.8).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably stick with Missouri in this one. It’s a thick line, though. The Tigers have a few question marks heading into this season—namely the effectiveness of the passing game—but things are looking promising in most areas. Missouri was 5-1 when throwing for 224 yards or more last year (1-6 when failing to hit that number), so look for the team to open things up immediately. On defense, the Tigers should continue to be an aggressive, harassing unit up front thanks to guys like Darius Robinson and Arizona State transfer Joe Moore. The linebackers and secondary are loaded with talent as well, and that will pay dividends right away. I like Missouri to start out strong in this opener with a convincing cover.