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Louisiana vs. Southern Mississippi Prediction, Odds, Spread and Over/Under for College Football Week 9

By Reed Wallach

Sep 10, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Southern Miss Golden Eagles quarterback Zach Wilcke (12)
Sep 10, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Southern Miss Golden Eagles quarterback Zach Wilcke (12) / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
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Two middling Sun Belt teams look to get the upper hand in late season play on Thursday night.

Louisiana is suffering from some growing pains in the post-Billy Napier era, but have rattled off two straight double digit wins in conference play. Can they continue to turn the corner against one of the best defenses in the Sun Belt in Southern Mississippi?

Let's check out the odds and dish out a best bet:

Louisiana vs. Southern Mississippi Odds, Spread and Total

Louisiana vs. Southern Mississippi Betting Trends

  • Louisiana is 2-0 against the spread (ATS) this season
  • Both teams are 3-4 to the OVER this season
  • Southern Mississippi is 5-2 ATS this season, 2-1 as an underdog

Louisiana vs. Southern Mississippi Prediction and Pick

The Ragin' Cajun have rattled off two straight wins against Marshall and Arkansas State, but I'm still not sold on this roster. The Red Wolves are one of the worst teams at the FBS level and the Marshall loss may have been a bit flukey. The Thundering Herd were 10-point favorites in that game, but had three turnovers in the loss.

Louisiana was a 6.5-point favorite against Arkansas State last week, and if you go back a week further, Southern Mississippi closed a 4.5-point favorite in a matchup against Arkansas State. Yes, ULL dismantled the common opponent by 20 while Southern Miss held on to win by one, but the Eagles moved the ball at will, posting a 48% success rate (78th percentile dating back to 2021).

The best unit on the field will be Southern Mississippi's defense, which is top 10 in tackles for loss and allowing just over three yards per carry. The defensive line is fantastic and will put pressure on newly minted Ragin' Cajun quarterback Ben Woolridge to make plays with his arm.

Despite playing well against Arkansas State, this is a far better defense in Southern Miss that is top 20 in success rate allowed on the year.

After opening as small home underdogs, this game has drifted close to a coin flip, and I'm inclined to give the home team the nod here as I sell high on ULL's two game winning streak.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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