Free Week 1 Prediction: Dukes vs. Mountaineers Odds
Looking for James Madison Dukes vs. West Virginia Mountaineers free picks? Week 1 betting sees the Dukes taking on the Mountaineers Saturday, August 31st at Milan-Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this James Madison West Virginia Week 1 free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 1
(0-0) James Madison Dukes vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (0-0)
Date: Saturday, August 31 2019
Time: 2:00 pm EST
Venue: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
NCAA Football Spread: James Madison +6
NCAA Betting Total: 52.5
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James Madison heads to Morgantown to take on a West Virginia squad that has gone through a complete overhaul from years past. It’s rare to find such a short spread in an FCS. vs. FBS matchup, but the oddsmakers certainly seem to have gotten this one right.
James Madison Dukes
The James Madison Dukes come into the 2019 season as the 2/1 favorite to win the FCS Championship. This is largely due to the fact that they return 20 of their 22 starters from last season, including for Pittsburgh Panther transfer Ben DiNucci.
DiNucci will look to improve on his 2,275 yard, 16 touchdown, 12 interception season now that he has his first full season as a starter under his belt. In spite of DiNucci’s sub-par season, the Dukes were still able to put up an impressive 33.9 points per game.
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One of the bigger changes for this James Madison team this offseason was their head coach. Head coach Mike Houston left the Dukes to take over the vacant head coaching gig at East Carolina during the middle of the FCS playoffs last season. While losing Houston hurts (37-6 record at JMU), the Dukes found a more than capable replacement in Curt Cignetti.
Cignetti began his coaching career under the tutelage of legendary coaches Johnny Majors at Pitt and most recently Alabama under Nick Saban before landing a head coaching gig of his own at IUP.
Perhaps the most dangerous unit on this seasoned JMU team is their defense. The defense allowed an outstanding 14.6 points per game last season and return a starter to every single position this season. However; the Dukes did lose one key member to their secondary. Standout cornerback Jimmy Moreland was drafted in the 7th round by the Washington Redskins.
Losing Moreland definitely hurts, but luckily for them, they can go ahead and slot in another corner with pro potential. The Dukes get 2017 All American Rashad Robinson is back after missing all of last season with a foot injury.
It’s not often you find an FBS vs. FCS matchup with a spread of less than a touchdown. The Dukes have the respect of Las Vegas and are in primed spot to gain the respect of West Virginia -6 bettors.
West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia comes into 2019 with almost a completely new team. Head Coach Dana Holgerson took off for Houston and they’ll lose 23 players total including 14 starters. The overhaul on the offensive side of this roster is massive.
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The Mountaineers lost quarterback Will Grier and his top two targets, David Sills and Gary Jennings. The duo of Jennings and Sills were on the receiving end of 28 of Griers 39 passing touchdowns last season.
While this offense is surely due to see their 39.2 points per game average come plummeting down after losing their 3 biggest playmakers, they do have a pair of running backs returning for their senior seasons. Kennedy McKoy and Martell Pettaway combined for 1425 yards on just 243 carries last season, good for 5.8 yards per carry.
While those numbers look good, its unknown whether they’ll be able to build off last season with the departure 3 of their starting 5 offensive linemen. Defenses will certainly pay more attention to WVU’s running game now that they don’t have to focus on trying to contain the trio of Grier, Jennings, and Sills like they had to last year.
Things don’t get much better for the Mountaineers on defense. They have lost almost every starter from a sub-par defense last season (28.1 points allowed) and will now be without projected starting LB VanDarius Cowan for the 1st four games of the season. WVU is switching up their defensive scheme a bit; moving out of their traditional 3-3-5 and going with a 4-2-5 look under new head coach Neal Brown.
The Mountaineers are just going to have to hope they have a few diamonds in the rough if they want to keep up with some explosive Big 12 offenses this season.
With all due respect to the JMU Dukes, the fact that West Virginia is just a touchdown favorite at home against an FCS school shows just how big of a turnaround this team is in for after a solid 2018 campaign. 2019 is the start of a rebuild season for the Mountaineers.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Over is 7-2 in Dukes last 9 road games.
- Over is 5-1 in Mountaineers last 6 games on fieldturf.
- Over is 5-1 in Mountaineers last 6 games overall.
- Mountaineers are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 home games.
Free Week 1 NCAA Football Pick
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: James Madison +6
I like the Dukes to put quite a scare into this inexperienced Mountaineer bunch, and an upset here would not surprise me at all. In the end, I believe Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall completes a late-game comeback to give this raw West Virginia team the win at home.
Week 1 Free Score Prediction: James Madison 27 – West Virginia 28
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