College Football Picks for Friday, September 10, 2021
Coming off of a great 4-0 Saturday weekend and an overall 5-2 record so far on NCAA games, we are ready to make even more cash as the games return to us Friday, September 10, 2021. Let’s see what we have in terms of plays for the games.
Kansas vs. Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina is the only ranked team playing on Friday night, and they should have a fairly easy game against Kansas, but just how easy is the question. In the first game, they easily beat the Citadel Bulldogs 52 to 14. Coastal Carolina relies heavily on their rushing attack – they scored five touchdowns on the ground in their last game. Overall, their defense didn’t really have much of a challenge, but my concern is they might not get much pressure on the quarterback, and over time that could cause a big issue for the team overall.
Kansas had a much closer game, narrowly escaping with a win at 17-14. This was a home opener for the Jayhawks, and their opponent South Dakota, is probably a better team than Citadel. Still, Kansas remains a basketball school, so football is a bit of an afterthought with top recruits. That isn’t to say there is no talent on Kansas, but Coastal Carolina really shouldn’t struggle against Kansas. The line has moved down from Coastal Carolina being almost a four-touchdown favorite. I think that this game is one that I prefer to play in the first half. I think Coastal Carolina can hold Kansas scoreless and get three scores themselves to cover the -14.5 first half spread… if you feel more comfortable, see if you can buy the half point and protect yourself from the hook.
UTEP vs. Boise State
UTEP looked pretty strong for the first half of their opener against Bethune-Cookman, but then allowed 28 second half points. They gave up a few long yardage plays, but they really should’ve been much more in control than that. This was very much a tune-up game for UTEP and hopefully they shook off some of the rust and issues form the offseason. While their quarterback, Gavin Hardison, ended with three touchdown passes, he had less than 200 yards and was only 14-for-23 in passing. It wasn’t exactly and impressive outing for him. Their rushing attack led the charge with two backs surpassing the 100 yard mark.
Boise State lost to UCF in their opener, but should have a much easier time against UTEP. Boise showed that they can move the ball against a strong UCF team and should look to replicate their offensive success against UTEP. Their wide receiver, Khalil Shakir, might be the offensive focal point for the season. He had five receptions for 91 yards and two scores in the opener. I think he could cause some damage against UTEP. My biggest concern for this game is that UTEP will be able to pace the game with their running game. I don’t know that Boise State will be able to stop them enough to control the ball long enough to cover the spread. Play UTEP +26.