– Last Updated on November 21, 2022 3:28 pm
Free Week 1 Prediction: Minutemen vs Scarlet Knights Odds
Looking for UMass Minutemen vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights free picks? Week 1 betting sees the Minutemen taking on the Scarlet Knights Friday August 30th at Highpoint.com Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this UMass Rutgers Week 1 free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 1
(0-0) Umass Minutemen vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0-0)
Date: Friday, August 30th 2019
Time: 7:15 pm EST
Venue: Highpoint.com Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
NCAA Football Spread: Rutgers -15.5
NCAA Betting Total: 55.0
Live CFB Odds
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For TodayClick here to view… CFB ATS Stats & NCAAF Betting Insight for this game!
NCAAF is back and we have this battle between the Minutemen and Scarlet Knights to look forward to in week 1.
This game will take place on Friday August 30th at Highpoint.com Stadium with a capacity of over 52 000.
Umass Minutemen
The Minutemen brought in a new head coach in Walt Bell who is only 35 years of age, but is seen as a fantastic offensive minded coach. Bell will have his work cut out for him, though, as UMass has lost a ton of talented players. They have lost both of their starting QB’s in Ross Comis and Andrew Ford who managed to throw for 3000 yards and 23 TD’s together.
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Randall West has just been announced as the starter and that might not bode well considering he has not had a start since 2017 despite being a standout in high school.
The biggest problem West may have is that the team have lost standout receiver Andy Isabella to the NFL Draft (Arizona Cardinals). He really was outstanding for the Minutemen as he finished last season with 102 catches for 1698 yards and 13 TD’s.
On the other hand, there should be enough young receiving talent to make up a part of Isabella’s output, but it will be impossible to fully replace his performances going into the 2019 season.
Another worrying thing for UMass is the loss of their starting running-back Marquis Young. He rushed for 778 yards and had 9 scores with a fantastic 5 yards per carry and his departure leaves the Minutemen in a rough spot at the RB position.
The defense was atrocious for this side last year giving up 489 yards per game and a whopping 43 points per game. They also had only 10 sacks on the year last year and that won’t even be close to good enough if this team wants to compete this year.
In addition to problems up front, the secondary also lost 3 players in the secondary and are likely ill equipped to replace them.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Chris Ash, the 4th year coach for the Scarlet Knights, has a ton of work to do to turn this program around off an abysmal 1-11 season. In that year the offense ranked dead last in the nation for scoring and will obviously need to be way better to meet the school’s expectations.
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That offenses final statistics for the year were 266 yards per game and only 13.5 points per game.
Rutgers has received a transfer at the QB position in Mclane Carter who is likely going to be Fridays starter. It would be a big shock if he is not, as last year’s starter Artur Sitkowski had 4 TD’s to 18 picks last season. One bright spot for the team’s offense is that Raheem Blackshear returns who is a speedster and also was the team’s leading receiver last year.
The main headline for this Rutgers team’s defense is the losses they have had on that side of the ball. A total of six starters need to be replace in a front seven which only generated 18 sacks last year.
The most important losses in that front seven was they linebackers who are both gone now and they had combined for 197 tackles last year.
The secondary for this team does have some talent, though, with Avery Young at cornerback who could turn out to be really good. The safety spots, however, will need to be filled by recruits and underclassmen.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Minutemen are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games.
- Minutemen are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. Big Ten.
- Scarlet Knights are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Scarlet Knights are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. INDEP.
- Scarlet Knights are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
Free Week 1 NCAA Football Pick
I think Rutgers can cover this 15.5 point spread even though we are no getting the best of the number with the spread ballooning from 11.5 to now the 15.5.
Umass has lost their best player and I am not confident in a QB who has not had a start since 2017.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Rutgers -15.5
Look for Rutgers to start this season off right and cash in on the at home against the spread.
Week 1 Free Score Prediction: Umass Minutemen 13 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights 35
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