Nevada and Minnesota look to get their seasons back on track when they square off on Saturday afternoon. It will be Nevada's fourth game after they started the season in Week 0, and they won't get a bye until Week 5. They have a 1-2 record, losing to SMU and Georgia Southern but beating Troy. It will be Minnesota's third game, starting their season with a loss to North Carolina before shutting out Rhode Island. It is time to continue our college football odds series with a Nevada-Minnesota prediction and pick.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for Nevada as they travel to take on a Big Ten school in this matchup. They lost a disappointing game to Georgia Southern in Week 2, where their offense couldn't score a touchdown after the first quarter. Nevada had a 14-7 lead after 15 minutes, but Georgia Southern rallied off two field goals and a touchdown to grab the 20-17 victory. Nevada opted to kick a field goal with two minutes remaining to cut the lead to three instead of going for the tie with a touchdown, which should tell you how poorly their offense has run.
Minnesota took out its anger from the Week 1 loss to North Carolina on Rhode Island in last week's matchup. It took a while for the Golden Gophers offense to get going, as they led just 3-0 after the first quarter. However, their rushing attack elevated in the second quarter with a rushing touchdown from Darius Taylor and Marcus Major. Max Brosmer got in on the action in the third quarter, connecting for two passing touchdowns to Cristian Driver and Le'Meke Brockington. Minnesota added 17 more points in the fourth to win 48-0.
Here are the College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Nevada-Minnesota Odds
Nevada: +17.5 (-105)
Moneyline: +740
Minnesota: -17.5 (-115)
Moneyline: -1200
Over: 44.5 (-102)
Under: 44.5 (-120)
How to Watch Nevada vs. Minnesota
Time: 3:30 PM ET/12:30 PM PT
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Nevada Could Cover The Spread/Win
There may not be much home-field advantage for the Golden Gophers in this matchup. They have lost three of its last four games at Huntington Bank Stadium. Nevada's defense will likely need to be the catalyst to covering the spread here, as the offense won't want to get in a shootout with Minnesota.
Nevada has the potential to keep this game close. They covered the spread in six of their last seven road games against non-AP-ranked teams.
Why Minnesota Could Cover The Spread/Win
Minnesota's offense looked just as bad as Nevada's through five quarters, but Max Brosmer and the Golden Gophers woke up in the second quarter. Brosmer ended the Rhode Island game with 271 yards and two touchdowns, while Darius Taylor had 64 yards and a rushing score. The impressive thing about Minnesota's offense was that 12 players had receptions in the victory, which could be trouble for Nevada's defense to contend with. The Big Ten talent and depth could win here and propel the Golden Gophers to a cover.
Nevada's defense has a tough start to the year, but you can't expect them to be as stagnant as Rhode Island. However, Minnesota's ability to hold Rhode Island to 117 yards passing and 18 yards rushing could make this another long day for the Wolf Pack.
Final Nevada-Minnesota Prediction & Pick
It's hard to imagine a scenario where the Nevada offense can keep up in this game. The only question is whether Minnesota's offense will sleepwalk through the first part of this game like they did in their past two. It could be a bit of a sweat, but we'll take Minnesota to cover in the end.
Final Nevada-Minnesota Prediction & Pick: Minnesota -17.5 (-115)
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