Minnesota -3 at Fresno St.
I hyped up Fresno State’s recent success against non-conference opponents last week, and while they were able to score 10 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to backdoor cover against USC, I didn’t love what I saw. If JT Daniels hadn’t gotten hurt, USC could’ve turned this game into a blowout. Fresno St. QB Jorge Reyna was effective rushing the ball but only completed 48.7% of his passes. I also wonder how his body feels after carrying the rock 20 times (he’s only 6’1” 185 lbs).
S&P+ seems to agree, considering Fresno St. dropped from 46th to 59th in the rankings. Minnesota also dropped 9 spots (30th to 39th) after their scare against South Dakota State, but I trust PJ Fleck to use that lackluster performance as motivation. It’s tough for college teams to get up for two big games in a row, so I see this as a potential letdown spot for Fresno State, even though it’s their home opener. It’s just not the same playing in front of 38,000 fans as it is 78,000, especially considering the added motivation for Fresno St. players that weren’t recruited by USC. Minnesota will also have extra time to prepare, as they last played Thursday night (compared to Saturday night for Fresno State).
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