College football season is back in full swing Saturday, including Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders at noon ET from NRG Stadium in Houston. The Red Raiders are 2.5-point favorites, up 3.5 from being one-point underdogs. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, has held steady at 67. Before you make your Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech picks, you need to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say. The computer has racked up incredible profits for its users. Over the past three years, the prediction model has returned a whopping $4,210 to $100 college football bettors and closed last bowl season on a perfect 7-0 run.
Now, the model has simulated Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech 10,000 times to produce strong against the spread and Over-Under picks. It's leaning Under, but it's also locked in a strong against the spread pick that hits in well over 50 percent of simulations.
The model has considered that the loss of quarterback Nic Shimonek, who threw for nearly 4,000 yards in 2017, is a serious detriment for Texas Tech. In his place is McLane Carter, who is more than capable of running the Red Raiders' vertical offense. In four appearances last year, he averaged 15.6 yards per completion.
In the backfield is redshirt sophomore Da'Leon Ward. In his freshman year, he pounded out 428 yards while scoring three times. He is expected to be the workhorse after the graduation of stud running back Justin Stockton. Carter's primary receiving target will likely be T.J. Vasher. At 6-foot-6 and 190 points, Vasher stretches the field on deep routes. He averaged 18.8 yards per catch in 2017 on 29 receptions.
Ole Miss is coming off a 6-6 season that ended with a bang when it knocked off Mississippi State in a thrilling 31-28 win in the Egg Bowl. The Rebs are led by senior quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who completed 67 percent of his passes last year. Playing in this option-heavy offense, he will likely be the team's leading rusher against Texas Tech. His top receiver is All-American A.J. Brown. The junior wideout had a breakout sophomore campaign with 1,252 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
The experienced Rebels' front seven will try to apply pressure against a solid Red Raiders offensive line protecting its inexperienced quarterback. Ole Miss' secondary is hoping for a bounce-back year. It was part of a defense that was gouged for 460 yards and 34 points a game in 2017. Ole Miss' cornerbacks will have to be aware of Texas Tech's air raid, which attacks open spaces in the defense.
So which side of the Ole Miss-Texas Tech spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to be all over, all from the incredible computer model that has returned over $4,000 for $100 bettors, and find out.
