Texas A&M vs Kent State 9/4/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Texas A&M Aggies meet the Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday in week 1 college football action at Kyle Field. The Kent State Golden Flashes finished 3-1 last year and enter a fourth year under coach Sean Lewis. The Texas A&M Aggies went 9-1 last year and enter a fourth season under coach Jimbo Fisher. 

The Kent State Golden Flashes averaged 49.8 points and 606.5 yards per game last season. Kent State allowed an average of 38 points and 424 yards per game last season. Dustin Crum returns at quarterback after throwing for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns. Marquez Cooper is back after leading Kent State with nearly 300 rushing yards and five touchdowns while Ja’Shaun Poke and Isaac Vance is a receiving duo that combined for 400 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Dean Clark returns after leading Kent State with 28 tackles, Brandon Coleman had three sacks and Elvis Hines had one interception. Kent State was the best offensive team in the country in both points and yards per game and it returns majority of last years core. However, the Golden Flashes only played four games, so it’s going to be interesting to see if they can repeat such an effort with a larger sample size.

The Texas A&M Aggies averaged 32.6 points and 439.2 yards per game last season. Texas A&M allowed an average of 21.7 points and 317.3 yards per game last season. Haynes King will takeover at quarterback after four pass attempts last season. Isaiah Spiller returns after leading Texas A&M with 1,000 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while Ainias Smith and Jalen Wydermyer is a receiving duo that combined for 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. Defensively, Aaron Hansford returns after 49 tackles, Micheal Clemons had four sacks and Leon O’Neal Jr. had two interceptions. Texas A&M has most of its playmakers back and will push Alabama and others in the SEC. The main question with the Aggies is if King can truly replace Kellen Mond at the quarterback position. If so, Texas A&M is a national title dark horse this season.

The Golden Flashes are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall. The Aggies are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Golden Flashes last 5 games overall. The under is 7-3 in Aggies last 10 games as a favorite.

While it was only a four-game sample size, the Kent State Golden Flashes averaged over 600 yards of offense and nearly 50 points per game. Kent State returns a lot of those players and has to believe it can put up numbers again. Speaking of offense, Texas A&M has a legit Heisman candidate in running back Spiller and elite playmakers at receiver. Assuming King can hit the ground running, the Aggies are going to be scary offensively. I expect some offensive fireworks here. Give me the over.