North Texas Mean Green

North Texas Mean Green

Aug 31, 2024

South Alabama Jaguars

South Alabama Jaguars
  • Overview
  • Consensus
  • Stats
  • Odds
  • Trends
  • Props

North Texas vs South Alabama Prediction, Preview, & Odds – 8/31/2024

The North Texas Mean Green will take on the South Alabama Jaguars on August 31, 2024, at 5:00 pm ET. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Mean Green as 5.0 point underdogs. Currently, 12% of spread bets are on North Texas, while 88% are on South Alabama. The opening total of 64.0 has seen 91% of bets on the under and 9% on the over. Here are our thoughts on what should be a high-scoring North Texas vs South Alabama matchup in college football.

Can North Texas Defense Stop South Alabama?

The North Texas Mean Green had a subpar season in the American Athletic Conference last year. The Mean Green went 5-7 and narrowly missed out on bowl eligibility, with their defense being a big reason for their losing record. North Texas allowed the most points of any AAC team last year, even more than a dreadful Temple team, which they will need to fix if they want to start their season with a win against South Alabama on Saturday.

Fortunately, North Texas should be good on offense to make up for their woes on the defensive side of the ball. Chandler Morris should benefit from taking a step down in level of competition this year after a rather unspectacular season at TCU a season ago. The Mean Green will hope that will translate to some instant offense in Alabama in this matchup.

Major Applewhite Takes Over As South Alabama Head Coach

In addition to having a great name, Major Applewhite has been a fixture in college football coaching over the years. The former Houston head coach was an offensive coordinator at South Alabama in recent seasons and will be the head coach of that program for his first game on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how his team responds to the head coaching change, along with the coordinator changes that have come with it.

On the field, South Alabama's greatest strength was its defense last season. They allowed 21 points per game in 2023, a number that could be tough for them to match this season. The question will be whether or not the Jaguars can get pressure on Morris to limit the North Texas passing attack in this season opening affair.

North Texas vs South Alabama Best Bet

Our best bet for North Texas vs South Alabama is for South Alabama to cover the spread as a home favorite. They are likely to be the better defensive team in this game, which should ultimately make the difference. Expect Applewhite to get a win in his return to a head coaching post in college football and for South Alabama to improve to 1-0 both straight up and against the spread.

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Consensus

Spread Pick Consensus

+6.0/-108
30% NTX
-6.0/-112
70% SALA

Moneyline Pick Consensus

+180
9% NTX
-224
91% SALA

Total Pick Consensus

62.5/-112
84% UN
62.5/-108
16% OV

Stats

  • Team Stats
  • Passing
  • Rushing
  • Special Teams

Offense/Defense

NTX
Team Stats
SALA
12
GM
13
34.0
PPG
25.2
73.3
PLAYS-PG
68.1
488.7
YDS/G
391.0
6.7
YPP
5.7
23.9
1st DPG
21.1
14.3
1st DPass
11.1
6.9
1st DRush
7.8
2.7
1st Pen
2.2
6.8
Pen-Gm
5.4
56.9
Pen-Yds
48.3
0.6
FUM-G
0.3
1.0
INT-G
1.2

Defense/Offense

NTX
Team Stats
SALA
12
GM
13
34.5
PPG
34.4
74.3
PLAYS-PG
64.6
456.6
YDS/G
442.2
6.1
YPP
6.8
22.8
1st DPG
21.6
10.8
1st DPass
10.3
10.2
1st DRush
10.1
1.8
1st Pen
1.2
6.8
Pen-Gm
8.2
61.3
Pen-Yds
71.3
0.3
FUM-G
0.5
0.8
INT-G
0.5

Offense/Defense

NTX
Rushing
SALA
29.9
ATT
35.0
165.8
Y/G
142.2
5.5
Y/A
4.1
1.8
TD/G
1.5

Defense/Offense

NTX
Rushing
SALA
41.7
ATT
34.5
195.5
Y/G
198.7
4.7
Y/A
5.8
2.2
TD/G
2.5

Offense/Defense

NTX
Passing
SALA
27.3
CMP
21.4
43.4
ATT
33.1
62.8
CMP%
64.7
322.8
Y/G
248.8
7.4
Y/A
7.5
2.6
TD/G
1.4

Defense/Offense

NTX
Passing
SALA
19.6
CMP
19.5
32.6
ATT
30.1
60.1
CMP%
65
261.1
Y/G
243.5
8
Y/A
8.1
1.8
TD/G
1.6

NTX
Special Teams
SALA
3.7
Punts-GM
4.2
40.9
Punt Avg
39.6
2.2
Kick Ret GM
1.2
21.4
Kick Ret Avg
15.4
1.3
Punt Ret GM
1.1
9.6
Punt Ret Avg
14.6

Odds

  • Spread
  • MoneyLine
  • Over/Under
Open
Current
Book
NTX SALA
NTX SALA
Consensus
+6.5 (-109)
-6.5 (-110)
+6.0 (-109)
-6.0 (-111)
+7.0 (-108)
-7.0 (-110)
+6.0 (-108)
-6.0 (-112)
+7.5 (-115)
-7.5 (+100)
+6.5 (-115)
-6.5 (-105)
+6.5 (-109)
-6.5 (-110)
+6.0 (-109)
-6.0 (-112)
+6.5 (-110)
-6.5 (-110)
+6.0 (-110)
-6.0 (-110)
+7.0 (-110)
-7.0 (-110)
+6.0 (-110)
-6.0 (-110)
Open
Current
Book
NTX SALA
NTX SALA
Consensus
+194
-250
+180
-224
+200
-245
+180
-218
+205
-255
+168
-205
+188
-250
+180
-240
+205
-250
+180
-220
+200
-250
+180
-225
Open
Current
Book
Over Under
Over Under
Consensus
65.0 (-113)
65.0 (-108)
62.5 (-109)
62.5 (-111)
64.5 (-110)
64.5 (-110)
62.0 (-108)
62.0 (-112)
64.5 (-108)
64.5 (-112)
61.5 (-115)
61.5 (-105)
65.0 (-113)
65.0 (-108)
62.5 (-110)
62.5 (-110)
65.0 (-110)
65.0 (-110)
62.0 (-110)
62.0 (-110)
65.5 (-110)
65.5 (-110)
62.5 (-110)
62.5 (-110)