FIU at Texas Tech - 9/18/21 College Football Picks and Prediction

Defensively, FIU is holding their opponents to an average of 16.5 ppg on 313.5 total yards per game (180.0 passing yds/g; 133.5 rushing yds/g).

The Texas Tech Red Raiders improved to 2-0 on the season after defeating the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, 28-22, this past Saturday. Texas Tech struggled with turnovers and went into halftime trailing by a 13-7 margin, however, the Red Raiders offense was able to find some success in the 2nd half and held off the Lumberjacks after taking a 28-19 lead on a Xavier White 4-yard TD run with 12:30 left in the 4th quarter. Texas Tech was outgained by Stephen F. Austin by a 375-364 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 4-0 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Red Raiders was RB Tahj Brooks who had 103 rushing yards & 2 TD’s on 11 carries.

On the season, Texas Tech is averaging 33.0 ppg on 370.0 total yards per game (202.5 passing yds/g; 167.5 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Texas Tech has been led by the RB duo of Tahj Brooks (26 att, 237 yards, 4 TD) & Xavier White (11 att, 92 yards, TD). QB Tyler Shough has completed 63.0% of his passes for 405 yards, 2 TD, & 2 INT while also rushing for 1 TD. The top receiving threats for the Red Raiders have been Erik Ezukanma (13 rec, 322 yards, TD), Travis Koontz (4 rec, 28 yards), & Myles Price (2 rec, 14 yards).

Defensively, Texas Tech is holding their opponents to an average of 21.5 ppg on 313.0 total yards per game (258.5 passing yds/g; 54.5 rushing yds/g).

The Panthers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 road games and just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Red Raiders are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. C-USA opponents, however, are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite.

FIU is not a very good football team and don’t be misled by their early season offensive numbers as most of those came against the Long Island University Sharks in their season opening 48-10 victory. Texas Tech didn’t play their strongest against Texas State, however, this is a very talented offensive team that has former Oregon QB Tyler Shough and a solid rushing duo in Tahj Brooks & Xavier White. Texas Tech had a nice victory earlier this season against Houston and as I think that the offense will be able to find success against a Panthers team that ranked just 117th in rushing defense last season, I’m taking Texas Tech to cover this large spread at home. Good Luck!