LSU vs. Louisiana Tech Spread Pick
The LSU Tigers pulled off another impressive upset victory on the road last week when they came back to beat Auburn in the closing seconds. Will they suffer a letdown on Saturday night when they play non-conference foe Louisiana Tech at 7:00 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
383 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at 384 LSU Tigers
7:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 22, 2018
Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Tigers are 20.5-point favorites to beat the Bulldogs. The total, meanwhile, sits at 48 points. As of this writing, 71% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Tigers.
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech redshirt junior WR Rhashid Bonnette hauled in seven passes for 103 yards and a score in a 54-17 rout of Southern on Saturday. It was a huge first-half for Bonnette, and he was one of the key reasons that the Bulldogs jumped out to a 31-14 lead over the lowly Southern club on Saturday. His touchdown was a 17-yard strike from J’Mar Smith to give Louisiana Tech a 28-14 lead in the middle of the second quarter. Teddy Veal will likely be the top option for the Bulldogs, but Bonnette is certainly a capable second wideout. Louisiana Tech gets a bye next week before their contest with LSU on September 22.
LSU Tigers
LSU kicked junior WR Drake Davis off the team. Over the past month, Davis has been arrested twice on troubling charges. Last month, he was charged with one count of second-degree battery against his girlfriend — it was alleged that he broke her ribs — which got him indefinitely suspended from the team. And then over the weekend, Davis was arrested again on multiple counts including battery of a dating partner (strangulation), two counts of battery of a dating partner and two counts of violation of protective orders. The university has also suspended Davis on an interim basis.
Betting Trends
Louisiana Tech
The Bulldogs are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games played in the month of September and are 7-2 against the number in their last nine games against SEC opponents.
LSU
The Tigers have covered the spread in all four of their last four games versus Conference USA and are 8-2 against the number in their last 10 games overall.
Prediction
As I wrote earlier in the week in my prediction for the total, this matchup reminds me a lot of that LSU-Southeastern Louisiana matchup in Week 2. The Tigers were coming off an impressive victory over Miami in their opening game and then slept-walked through their game against the Lions the following weekend as a large home favorite. They failed to cover in that game and I see this matchup playing out the same way, especially considering the Bulldogs have some good offensive talent in Bonnette, J’mar Smith and Jaqwis Dancy. But ultimately, this pick is less about Louisiana Tech and more about LSU, which will suffer a letdown on Saturday night before having to ramp things back up against for Ole Miss next week.
College Football Prediction: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs +20.5