Missouri (0-0) vs Murray State (0-0)
Game Info: Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 8:00 pm (Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field)
The Line: Betting Odds: Missouri -46.5 / Murray State +46.5 — Over/Under: 58.5
The Murray State Racers and the Missouri Tigers meet Thursday in college football action from Faurot Field. Here’s a Murray State vs Missouri prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Murray State vs Missouri pick. We will examine:
The Murray State Racers recent form and player performance
The Missouri Tigers recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Murray State Racers
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Missouri Tigers
Recent betting trends in games played between Murray State and Missouri
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Murray State vs Missouri game
Murray State Racers Betting Preview
Last season, the Racers ended up with a pretty rough campaign. Murray State posted a 2-9 record overall and a 1-7 run in Missouri Valley Football Conference games. Oddly enough that was good enough to stay two spots out of the basement, ahead of Indiana State and Western Illinois.
It’ll be a clean slate on the sidelines this year for Murray State. Jody Wright joins the team in his first season, and he’s facing a pretty extensive rebuild. The good news is that the MVFC won’t be quite so foreign in the team’s second year there.
Missouri Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the Missouri side, they fared significantly better in 2023. The Tigers rolled to an 11-2 overall run with a 6-2 result in SEC games. That would put Missouri in second place in the East Division, behind only Georgia at 8-0. Missouri took a win over Ohio State 14-3 in the Cotton Bowl Classic to cap things off.
This year the Tigers get head coach Eliah Drinkwitz back for his fifth season, as well as new defensive coordinator Corey Batoon. The defense seems to be the biggest question mark for Missouri this season, as they lost a lot of top-tier talent in the offseason—including several who made it to the NFL.
Why the Missouri Tigers will win
- Missouri has won each of its last 10 games against non-AP-ranked teams at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
- Missouri has covered the spread in five of its last six games against non-AP-ranked teams.
Why the Murray State Racers will win
- Missouri has failed to cover the spread in each of its last three games in August.
Total Points Facts
- Five of Missouri’s last six games against non-AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.
Matchup/League Facts
- Missouri ranked T5th among FBS teams for H1 win percentage last season (.846).
- Missouri ranked T6th among FBS teams for H1 points allowed per game last season (7.8).
Murray State vs Missouri Prediction
I’ll probably just stay with Missouri, but the line’s way too thick to mess with. The Tigers certainly lost some top-tier names from last year’s group, but they’ve retained quite a bit of talent as well. That includes QB Brady Cook and most of the offense. Cook posted 3,317 pass yards and 21 scores with only six interceptions last season, and he’ll need to shine in order to navigate a tough schedule in 2024.
Still, the Missouri defense is likely going to have to outperform what they’ve got on paper—even though the Tigers did pretty well with transfers. This opener game should serve as a good warmup though, as Missouri likely won’t have too many issues. That said, with such a thick line you wouldn’t be crazy to take the Racers here.