SMU vs Nevada Prediction & Picks 8/24/2024

The SMU Mustangs are set to face the Nevada Wolf Pack from Mackay Stadium in Reno, NV on August 24, 2024, with the Mustangs being favored by 25.0 points according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The total for this contest is set at 56.0, as both teams look to light up the scoreboard in their first game of the year. Will the high-powered offense of SMU run over the hosts, or will Nevada find a way to put SMU on upset alert?

Stone, SMU Look to Start Strong In 2024

Last season, SMU went 11-3 and made it to the Fenway Bowl, where they lost to the Boston College Eagles. The Mustangs were perfect in American Athletic Conference play, with their only losses coming to three Power 5 opponents in TCU, Oklahoma, and Boston College. This year, the Mustangs will look for a similarly strong start against non-Power 5 opposition as they are heavy favorites against their opponent in this weekend's SMU vs Nevada matchup from Reno.

SMU returns its starting quarterback from last season in Preston Stone. Stone completed just under 60% of his passes last season, but threw for an impressive 3,197 yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He is expected to continue to progress this season and to make the Mustangs even more dangerous offensively than they were last year.

With that said, Stone saw his season end early last year, as he missed SMU's final two games due to a season-ending leg injury. As a result, there will be questions about how he plays in his first live game action since then. While this isn't expected to cause SMU problems in this contest, it is still something to monitor in the team's 2024 season debut.

Nevada Hopes to Avoid Another Nightmare Start

Last season was a disaster for the Nevada Wolf Pack. They went 2-10, dropping their first six games of the season, along with their final four games of the year. But the start of a new season means the opportunity to improve on things and Nevada will hope to do just that at home in their season opener against the SMU Mustangs.

If Nevada is going to avoid another season with double-digits in the loss column, their defense simply needs to be more disruptive to opponents than it was a season ago. The Wolf Pack finished in the bottom-20 in all of college football in points per game allowed last year, giving up 33.5 points per game. While giving up 66 points in their opener against USC certainly didn't help that number, the Wolf Pack gave up over 40 points on multiple occasions in Mountain West play as well, and their defense has to be better if they want any shot at being a competitive football team this year.

SMU vs Nevada Best Bet

Our top pick for SMU vs Nevada is for these teams to combine to go over 56 points. The Nevada defense was dreadful last year and is expected to be bad again this season. With a healthy Stone back at quarterback for SMU, we expect the Mustangs to run up a big number in this contest and for Nevada to do just enough on offense themselves to help push this game over its total.

Be sure to check out all our free NCAAFB picks here.