How often do you see a Big 10 team getting points in college football odds against a Sun Belt team?. If you said almost never you would be right. Sun Belt teams just are not favored against Big 10 teams very often but when the season begins on Thursday, September 2nd, Minnesota will be underdogs in college football betting odds at Middle Tennessee State in a game that can be seen on ESPN U. College football odds at Sbgglobal.com list Middle Tennessee State as a 4.5 point favorite at home vs. the Gophers. The question for gamblers to answer will be whether or not Middle Tennessee State is good enough to lay points to a Big 10 team.
Middle Tennessee State: You may not have head of the Blue Raiders but if head coach Rick Stockstill has his way you will. He thinks he can take Middle Tennessee State to the level of Louisville or Boise State. The problem he has is that Middle Tennessee plays in a rotten conference known as the Sun Belt. Stockstill is thought of as a great coach and he could have received a lot more money at a school like East Carolina but he likes his team that went 10-3 last season and returns 14 starters. He turned down job offers from Memphis and East Carolina. Middle Tennessee State was the first Sun Belt team to ever win 10 games in a season. The Blue Raiders have a very good quarterback in Dwight Dasher and he can do it all. He was 7th in the country last year in total offense. The Blue Raiders averaged 32 points and almost 422 yards per game last season. The defense returns eight starters from the 49th best scoring defense in the country.
Gophers: Minnesota returns a lot of starters in 2010 but so what. They were last in the Big 10 on offense a year ago. The defense is okay but they are not going to stop Middle Tennessee. This is the first-ever meeting between Minnesota and Middle Tennessee State. Minnesota is 4-3 all-time vs. schools from Tennessee.
Prediction: If this wasn’t a Sun Belt team vs. a Big 10 team this line would be double-digits. Minnesota is not very good and Middle Tennessee State should be able to win easily at home.