BYU vs SMU Prediction & Betting Picks 9/6/2024

The BYU Cougars are set to take on the SMU Mustangs on September 6, 2024, with DraftKings Sportsbook showing the Cougars as 10.5 point underdogs. Currently, the Cougars have 36% of spread bets, while the Mustangs are favored with 64% of bets. The total of 56.0 has seen 53% of bets on the under and 47% on the over. Here, we break down BYU vs SMU in non-conference action to kick off the college football Week 2 schedule on Friday.

BYU Set For FBS Opener

The BYU Cougars are 1-0 heading into Friday's college football action against the SMU Mustangs. It is tough to judge the level of the Cougars going into this contest, as their season opener was a blowout win over the Southern Illinois Salukis. But BYU did play well in that game and will look to sustain that level against their first FBS opponent of the 2024 college football season.

For BYU, the question will be whether or not the Cougars can perform as well in the passing game as they did in their season opener. While SMU is certainly a better opponent than Southern Illinois, the Mustangs had their struggles on the defensive side of the ball in their lone FBS matchup of the season so far. That could mean a respectable showing from the Cougars in this contest and one that could lead to an upset win on the road if things break their way.

SMU Aiming For More Convincing Performance

The SMU Mustangs are 2-0 to start the 2024 college football season. They opened their year on Week 0 with a tightly contested win over the Nevada Wolf Pack before blowing out FCS Houston Christian at home in Week 1. But their performance against Nevada was concerning, given that Nevada is expected to be one of the worst teams in FBS football this year, and SMU will look to atone for that in their second FBS matchup of the season.

Run defense and penalties were the issues for SMU in their win over Nevada in Week 0. The Mustangs had 11 penalties for 125 yards and allowed 150 rushing yards in that contest to allow Nevada to win the time of possession battle by a rather convincing margin. SMU can't afford to lose the time of possession battle again in this game, or they could be staring at a disappointing 2-1 start given their early-season strength of schedule.

BYU vs SMU Best Bet

Instead of taking a side in this game, we will go with the over between SMU and Nevada. SMU certainly has the offensive firepower to do the majority of the work in getting us to this number. Meanwhile, BYU will emphasize airing it out when they have possession, which should speed up the game and give the Cougars enough of a chance to put some points on the board. We will bank on this being an entertaining affair from the Metroplex.

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