Week 1: Missouri vs LA Tech 9/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Missouri Tigers and Louisiana Tech Bulldogs clash Thursday night in week 1 college football action from Faurot Field. The Bulldogs finished a disappointing 3-9 overall last year, landing in last place in their division. As for Missouri, they managed a 6-7 overall record in 2021. The Tigers got an invitation to the Armed Forces Bowl, where they lost by two points. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Louisiana Tech had a forgettable year in 2021. The Bulldogs went just 3-9 overall and 2-6 in Conference USA play. That mark left Louisiana Tech in last place in the West Division and out of bowl contention. 

The Bulldogs started out reasonably well last year at 2-2 with a pair of close losses in the books. Louisiana Tech would go just 1-7 the rest of the way, however. Their lone win came on November 13 in a 42-32 affair versus Charlotte. 

Over on the Missouri side, they fared slightly better overall in 2021 with a 6-7 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers had trouble making much headway against the likes of Georgia and Kentucky however, finishing in fourth place among the East Division. 

Missouri had some pretty solid wins along the way to their 6-7 record last year, but the team was only able to string together consecutive wins once all season. Still, the Tigers earned an invite to the Armed Forces Bowl, where they lost a tough one 22-24 against Army on December 22. 

The Bulldogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five Thursday games and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 versus the SEC. Louisiana Tech is 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven overall. 

Meanwhile, the Tigers are 4-1 ATS in the last five overall and 2-7 ATS in their last nine at home. Missouri is 1-4 ATS in the last five Thursday games. 

PICK: I’m going to stay with Missouri in this opener. The Tigers are a team that needs to really show their stuff this season: they’ve been sitting near .500 since the 2014 SEC Championship loss (42-43 overall), and in a tough SEC being average doesn’t go very far. The good news for Missouri is that they’ve got some promising young talent on offense—names like Tauskie Dove, Dominic Lovett and Luther Burden. The big question marks are going to be on the defensive side, as Missouri was the second-worst unit overall in the SEC last year. This opener should be a promising opportunity for the Tigers to showcase what they’re made of this year and kick the schedule off right.