5. Middle Tennessee at James Madison and Arizona at San Diego State
LINE James Madison -6, San Diego State -6.5
ATS PICKS James Madison and San Diego State
I’m combining the two storyline games of the day.
James Madison goes from being a dominant force in the FCS world to hosting Middle Tennessee at home to kick off life in the Sun Belt.
Besides the Blue Raiders needing to reboot a bit in a few spots, and even with James Madison still trying to get everything together depth-wise to handle the rigors of what this all is, 1) the home team here is better, and 2) the place should be a blast with all the energy of the first game in the big leagues.
That same sort of emotion thing should work for San Diego State, too.
It’s opening its snazzy new Snapdragon Stadium – complete with cushy chairs for everyone in the state of the art facility – and it’s hosting an Arizona team that’s going to be better this season, but shouldn’t be a big problem quite yet.
San Diego State is the stronger team giving up less than a touchdown, the defense should be fantastic – give some thought to the under on the 47.5 – and again with the crowd and energy, go with the narrative of the big opening moment.