Month: September 2022

Western Michigan at Michigan State odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Friday’s Western Michigan at Michigan State odds and lines, with college football expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Michigan State Spartans will host the Western Michigan Broncos to begin the 2022 season on Friday. Kickoff at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., is 7 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Michigan State vs. Western Michigan odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.

The Spartans concluded last season with an 11-2 record after going 2-5 in Mel Tucker’s 1st year as coach in 2020. While Michigan State lost RB Kenneth Walker III, the offense is returning Payton Thorne at quarterback  following a positive campaign in 2021.

Broncos coach Tim Lester enters his 6th year at Western Michigan. The Broncos went 8-5 in 2021, the most wins Lester has won during his tenure with the program (32-25 overall). Jack Salopek is expected to make his 1st collegiate start at quarterback Friday vs. the Spartans.

Michigan State is No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

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Western Michigan at Michigan State odds

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:31 a.m. ET.

  • Money line (ML): Western Michigan +850 (bet $100 to win $850) | Michigan State -1800 (bet $1800 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Western Michigan +21.5 (-108) | Michigan State -21.5 (-112)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 54.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)

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Western Michigan at Michigan State picks and predictions

Prediction

Michigan State 41, Western Michigan 17

Money line

Given the drastic odds in favor of the Spartans, it’s good to PASS on the money line in this contest. Putting $1,000 on Michigan State would net only $55.56, making it an uninspiring wager. The Spartans should be able to come away with a victory over the Broncos to begin the season, but betting on them to win at their current odds isn’t advisable.

Against the spread

Even with the massive spread, MICHIGAN STATE -21.5 (-112) is worth taking. The Spartans are ranked for a reason and Tucker has his team in a position to carry on from where the program left off in 2021. Also, Salopek is an inexperienced QB making a road start, so I lean toward a lopsided win in favor of Michigan State.

Also, Western Michigan is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Friday games and they are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Big Ten matchups. Meanwhile, Michigan State is 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games and they’re 5-0-2 ATS in their last 5 home games.

Over/Under

The OVER 54.5 (-108) appears to be a solid play in this contest, especially with Michigan State returning a majority of their offensive starters from a season ago. Western Michigan’s defense was a weakness in 2021 as they allowed 30.6 points per game.

Both of these teams averaged 31-plus points per game scoring last season and the defense of the Spartans is expected to be much improved in 2022. Michigan State could score most of the points in the matchup while Western Michigan could score enough points in garbage time to reach the over.

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5 Oklahoma Sooners to watch on defense vs. UTEP

Oklahoma suits up for the first time in 2022 against UTEP. Here are five defensive players we’ll be watching:

Oklahoma’s defense was far from bad last year. Make no mistake though, it wasn’t great either. According to Sports Reference, they were 60th in team defense. Pair that with inconsistent offensive outputs, and it makes up a team that missed out on a chance to win their seventh straight Big 12 title.

Alex Grinch is now at USC preparing his new team for their 2022 campaign. Oklahoma replaced Grinch with a guy whose Clemson team hadn’t finished outside the top 20 in team defense since 2015. Oh, and that year? They finished No. 25 out of 128 teams.

There’s a chance that if Oklahoma had any of that caliber of defense, they would’ve won a national title considering the offensive play they put on the field.

Brent Venables won’t be the defensive coordinator in Oklahoma, but you can bet the defense that you’ll see while he’s the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners is his defense. Ted Roof will run the defense, but Venables will undoubtedly have his hands in the pot. It’s fast, violent, suffocating, and multiple, and it helped Clemson win national titles in 2016 and 2018.

The Sooners are replacing six defensive starters from a year ago. Nik Bonitto and Isaiah Thomas will be hard to replace, but someone has to. Similarly, for the back end of the defense, where the starting safety duo of Delarrin Turner-Yell and Pat Fields is no more, the Sooners will need to find some answers.

With UTEP coming to town, the Sooners will get to showcase in full just how hard they’ve worked to understand and learn this new defensive scheme. We’ve rounded up some defensive players to watch when the Sooners take on the Miners.

2025 power forward set to visit LSU

The Tigers are already reaching out to a sophomore prospect in Parker Jefferson.

[autotag]Parker Jefferson[/autotag] is a 2025 6-foot-10, 230-pound power forward from Waxahachie, Texas, where he plays for Waxahachie High School. He currently holds offers from LSU, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and SMU.

Jefferson’s signing date is a long way out, but he’s already taking some visits and will be in Baton Rouge in September.

“I’ll visit (LSU) on Sept. 17,” Jefferson told On3. “I don’t know too much about LSU, but they look like they got a good environment over there. My parents are from Arkansas, so they are kind of their rivals. I want to go down to Baton Rouge and explore what they got.”

[autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] was named the head coach of the Tigers last offseason and he has since totally rebuilt the LSU roster heading into the 2022 season and has one commit for the 2023 class.

Jefferson is just a sophomore in high school so it will be a couple of years before he receives an official ranking but that hasn’t stopped a lot of coaches from reaching out to the big man.

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Penn State at Purdue odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Thursday’s Penn State at Purdue odds and lines, with college football expert picks and predictions.

The Penn State Nittany Lions and Purdue Boilermakers open the 2022 season with a Thursday night Big Ten battle in West Lafayette, Ind. Kickoff at Ross-Ade Stadium is slated for 8 p.m. ET (FOX). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Penn State vs. Purdue odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.

Last season, Penn State was 5-0 through Oct. 2, but then fell apart the rest of the way to finish with a 7-6 mark. The Nittany Lions had a little bit of Nebraska-itis over the course of its disappointing season, going 0-4 in games decided by 1 score.

Purdue — which has lost 9 in a row to Penn State — went 9-4 last season. Bolstered by a strong aerial attack, the Boilermakers led the Big Ten West in points per game at 29.1. Purdue averaged 355.4 passing yards per contest. It went 2-2 against ranked foes, beating Iowa and Michigan State.

Check out: AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY sports

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Penn State at Purdue odds

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:01 a.m. ET.

  • Money line: Penn State -180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Purdue +145 (bet $145 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Penn State -3.5 (-108) | Purdue +3.5 (-112)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 52.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)

Exclusive USA TODAY Network offer: Deposit $10 or more, get $200 in instant bet credits at Tipico Sportsbook! New customer offer in CO and NJ. 21+, see Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. Place your legal, online sports bets at Tipico. Let’s make this interesting. Bet now!

Penn State at Purdue picks and predictions

Prediction

Penn State 24, Purdue 21

Money line

A lot of juice to overcome here. Too much, so PASS.

Against the spread

The Thursday night under the lights mixes with some program mojo and makes Purdue a worthwhile consideration here.

For for the host Boilermakers to hang around in a 1-score game. The lean is a small one. Consider a partial-unit play on PURDUE +3.5 (-112).

Over/Under

The Under went 2-5 in Purdue’s last 7 games in 2021. But it was 6-0 through Oct. 16.

Penn State played in 3 straight Unders to open the 2021 season. Overall, the Under went 10-3 in Lions games.

And that’s the lean in Thursday’s lid-lifter, with the offense being a half-step behind the defense. BACK THE UNDER 53.5 (-108).

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO and NJ. Bet now!

If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW, or try out our USA TODAY Parlay Calculator. Please gamble responsibly.

Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:

Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin / College Football News

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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Browns DE Myles Garrett responds to Baker Mayfield’s Week 1 ‘comments’

Browns DE Myles Garrett already knows how spicy Panthers QB Baker Mayfield can be.

The spiciness of Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield is nothing new to former teammate Myles Garrett—whether that spiciness is serious or not.

On Tuesday, Garrett reacted to Cynthia Frelund’s alleged conversation with his old Cleveland Browns buddy—one in which the NFL Network analyst claimed Mayfield was ready to really, um, take it to his former team in Week 1. And although Frelund has since stated that the chat was had in jest, the All-Pro defensive end knows what Baker is already about.

“We’ll take it and we’ll use it, and I’m hoping for a great matchup,” he said. “I don’t think any less of him because he’s going out there and doing the same thing he did when he was with us. He’s the same guy personally, and maybe we’ll see a different Baker when we get on the field. Who knows?”

Well, we’ll know on Sept. 11—when Mayfield and his Panthers play host to Garrett and his Browns for their 2022 season opener.

He also added, just a week after asserting that there is no rivalry between the two sides, that Mayfield is at where he’s at because he is who he is.

“We’ve known he has that type of demeanor and that attitude, and for better or for worse, it works for him,” Garrett said. “And I’m not mad at him using that fire and that chip on his shoulder to help him play to the level he has. He’s been successful in what he’s done.’’

Mayfield, additionally, cleared the air on Wednesday—claiming that he did not say what was initially reported and only wants to win.

So, in short, just football guys being football guys. Week 1, here we come.

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