Akron (0-0) at No. 16 Ohio State (0-0) Gambling Preview + Predictions
Both Middle Tennessee State and Purdue suffered through an extremely disappointing season last year. The Blue Raiders were projected to win the Sun Belt, but they finished just 6-7 on the year.
The Boilermakers had built up momentum in 2009 and were considered a sleeper in the Big Ten, but the injury bug hit them hard and Purdue finished 4-8.
These teams will both be looking to start this season quickly, but only one team can come out victorious.
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Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Ross-Ade Stadium
Saturday September 3, 12:00 PM EST
NCAA Football Odds from BetOnline
Moneyline: Off
College Football Spread: Purdue -18 (-110) Middle Tennessee State +18 (-110)
Over/Under: 50.5
MTSU vs. Purdue ATS Gambling Stats –>
Middle Tennessee State
The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State were hurt badly by the suspension of Dwight Dasher last season.
When Dasher came back, he wasn’t even close to the player he had previously been. Logan Kilgore is set to be the starter for MTSU this season. Kilgore did a solid job in limited action last year, but the team will need him to do a little more this year. Expect the Blue Raiders to run the football early and often this season.
D.D. Kyles and Ben Cunningham are both extremely talented, and they should be featured in this season opener. MTSU is solid on the offensive line, but they lack play makers at the wide receiver position.
The Middle Tennessee State defense will need to step it up a bit this year. The defensive line will have four new starters, so that will be a real concern heading into the season. The strength of this defense will be the linebackers.
Darrin Davis will be one of the better linebackers in the Sun Belt. The secondary has plenty of athleticism, but this unit will need to hold its own on the front line.
Purdue
It would be difficult to find a team that suffered more injuries than Purdue did a year ago. The Boilermakers had 16 different players miss games last season, and many of them were key contributors. Unfortunately for Danny Hope and the Boilermakers, this season is starting out the same way. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Robert Marve is still recovering from an ACL tear suffered last season, and projected signal caller Rob Henry tore an ACL just a few days ago. The Boilermakers will start Caleb TerBush at the quarterback position in this one.
TerBush will be the fifth starter Purdue has used at quarterback in the past year. On the positive side, Ralph Bolden should return to the backfield. Expect Bolden to be a major part of this offense.
The Boilermakers lost Ryan Kerrigan, who led the Big Ten in sacks last season. They can’t expect anyone to match his statistics from a year ago, but they’ll need a new leader on the defensive line. The Purdue secondary should be an area of strength for the team this year.
Ricardo Allen is a ball hawk who can intercept it and take the ball the other way quickly. The linebackers aren’t spectacular, but they all do their job very well. Purdue’s defense will need to be better than last season if this team is going to make noise in the Big Ten.
Both teams are starting an inexperienced quarterback, which makes this game very difficult to call. I think 18 points is a little too much in this one, but my favorite play is the under.
NCAA Gambling Trends:
Under is 7-3-1 in MTENN last 11 games overall.
Under is 16-7 in MTENN last 23 games in September.
MTENN are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall.
PURD are 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 home games.
Under is 37-15-2 in PURD last 54 home games.
Under is 36-16-1 in PURD last 53 games on grass.
Free College Football Pick: Under 50.5
Score Prediction: Purdue 28 Middle Tennessee State 17
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