Free College Football Picks For Today, Friday 9-6-2024
BYU vs. SMU College Football Betting Pick Prediction 9/2/2024
BYU at SMU—BYU is 1-0 following their 41-13 home win to FCS Southern Illinois. The Cougars finished at 5-7 last year for head coach Kalani Sitake. Seven starters return on offense with six on defense. The Cougars averaged 21.5 points with 302 yards per game last year. They rushed for 3.6 yards a carry and were poor in the passing game. On defense BYU allowed 31 points and 424 yards per game. They gave up five yards per run with 62.1% completions for seven yards per pass attempt. Jake Retzlaff is the starter at quarterback. He saw limited action last year completing 50.4% of his passes with 5.2 yards per pass attempt. He posted great numbers in the opener against his FCS opponent. SMU is 2-0 after their 59-7 home win to FCS Houston Christian. In their opener they got past Nevada 29-24 on the strength of a late touchdown pass. Preston Stone in the win against Nevada hit 17 of 30 for 254 yards with a touchdown and pick.
The Pick:
The Mustangs in their win at Nevada were flagged 11 times for 125 yards. They rushed for under three yards a carry on the Wolf Pack. The Cougars do bring back their running back and most of their receiver corps. Play BYU +11.5.
Duke vs. Northwestern College Football Betting Pick Prediction 9/2/2024
Duke at Northwestern—Duke is 1-0 following their 26-3 home win to FCS Elon. Duke finished at 8-5 last year. Manny Diaz is in his first season as head coach with five starters back on offense and five to the defense. The team put up 25.7 points per game in 2023 with 335 yards. They rushed for 4.7 yards per carry with major struggles in the passing game. On defense the Blue Devils held foes to 20 points and 364 yards per game. Team rushed for 3.9 yards per game against Duke with only 6.6 yards per pass attempt. Texas transfer Maalik Murphy will start at quarterback. In limited work in Texas, he completed 56.3% with 6.7 yards per pass attempt. He threw for three touchdowns and three picks. He had a good game in the win against their FCS foe. Northwestern is 1-0 after their 13-6 home win to Miami Ohio. The Wildcats put up 328 yards with 150 rushing for 4.8 yards a carry. Each team turned it over twice. On defense they held the Red Hawks to 267 yards with 40 rushing for 1.7 yards per carry. Mike Wright hit 18 of 30 for 179 yards. He rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown.
The Pick:
Would expect improvement from both offenses after their openers. Murphy was highly touted when he was recruited to Texas. His running ability is the key here. Play Duke and Northwestern over 36.