Florida Atlantic Owls vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 08/30/2024

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Friday, August 30, 2024

Venue:  Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI 

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  FAU +11.5, MSU -11.5; Over/Under:  46 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  FAU +11.5, MSU -11.5; Over/Under:  46.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  FAU +11.5, MSU -11.5; Over/Under:  46.5 points

Florida Atlantic Owls:  0-0 (0-0) (AAC)

Michigan State Spartans:  0-0 (0-0) (Big Ten)

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Florida Atlantic Owls:  N/A

Michigan State Spartans:  N/A

FAU finished last season with a 4-8 record overall and they had a 3-5 record in their conference games too.  They were 2-4 in their home games, 2-4 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 23.8 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 25.5 points per game. Their offense also averaged 330.8 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 397.3 yards per game. Daniel Richardson led the team in passing yards with 2001, Larry McCammon III led the team in rushing yards with 681, and LaJohntay Wester led the team in receiving yards with 1168.

 

 

 

Michigan State finished last season with a 4-8 record overall and they had a 2-7 record in their conference games too.  They were 3-3 in their home games, 1-4 in their road games, and they were also 0-1 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 15.9 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 28.3 points per game. Their offense also averaged 289.3 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 388.8 yards per game. Katin Houser led the team in passing yards with 1130, Nate Carter led the team in rushing yards with 798, and Montorie Foster led the team in receiving yards with 576.

The current betting odds have Michigan State listed as an 11.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Michigan State was terrible in their games last season with their 4-8 record overall and their 2-7 conference record. They were slightly better in their home games, going 3-3 in those, and there are a lot of changes to this program this year. Michigan State is in the 1st season of a new head coach who came over from Oregon State and brought some of the players with him. They are going to have a new starting QB this season too, but there is a lot of optimism in this program with the way Smith had his team running last year at Oregon State. Florida Atlantic wasn't a good team last season with their 4-8 record overall and they were only 2-4 in their road games too. They were giving up a lot of yards on defense and also averaged more points allowed than they scored all season. Michigan State was worse last season with one of the worst offenses in the country, but this is going to be a completely new look from them and they will be eager to make a statement in this 1st game of the season. They also play in a much stronger conference now with the new arrivals so they can't afford to fall flat on their face in this 1st game, they will be looking to impress here. The best way to place a bet here is on Michigan State to cover the spread in this game. 

Florida Atlantic Michigan State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, August 30, 2024 (7:00 pm ET start time) is MSU 38 FAU 17.

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Florida Atlantic Owls: 3-2 ATS in their last 5 away games. 4-1 ATS in the first quarter of their last 5 away games. 3-0 to the under in their last 3 games. 

Michigan State Spartans: 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games. 0-5 (-4 units) on the first half moneyline in their last 5 home games. 3-0 to the under in their last 3 games. 

Florida Atlantic Owls:  B. Alexander (WR) - Undisclosed. L. Hudgens (CB) - Undisclosed.

Michigan State Spartans:  M. Foster (WR) - Undisclosed.

"That's a scary, scary thought unless we figure out a way to keep these guys here. We've got that cavernous gap that is continuing to grow and now you say for one year to all of these schools that have $10-, $15-, $20-million collectives, 'You get 20 extra scholarships?' The Alabamas, the Floridas of the world, they're not going to sign high school players with those 20 extra scholarships. This very first year … your 20 best players are going to get bought by these schools that now have more room on their roster to pay players." - Tom Herman on trying to keep players on the team.

“We want to get into a pretty similar approach [to the approach at Oregon State] in regards to [recruiting and the transfer portal]. The majority come from high school. Then you put in work developing and get better. Then, you supplement your roster through the portal. We’re not quite there this first year with all the transitions that we have had, but we would like to get to that point.” - Jonathan Smith on his team coming into this new college football season.

WR Horton, EJ 

WR Johnson, Marlyn 

WR Tucker, Milan 

TE Moore, Zeke 

QB Fancher, Cam 

RB Johnson III, George 

WR Glover, Jaron 

WR Foster Jr., Montorie 

WR Brown, Alante

TE Velling, Jack

QB Chiles, Aidan 

RB Carter, Nate 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

Florida Atlantic Owls: Tom Herman (2nd season)

Michigan State Spartans: Jonathan Smith (1st season)