The Southern Miss Golden Eagles take on the Florida State Seminoles. Check out our college football odds series for our Southern Miss Florida State prediction and pick. Find how to watch Southern Miss Florida State.

The Florida State Seminoles made a major statement in Week 1 of the college football season. They struggled with LSU for one half before blowing the doors off the Tigers in the second half. The win over a national championship contender vaulted FSU into pole position for a College Football Playoff berth. It has been a long time since we have been able to discuss Florida State as a playoff team. The last season FSU made the playoff was in the first year of the playoff's existence, in 2014. That's how long Florida State has been removed from the top-tier discussions in college football. FSU got blown out by Lamar Jackson and Louisville early in the 2016 season. Even though Florida State reached a New Year's Six bowl game that season (playing Michigan in the Orange Bowl), the national title was never realistic. The Louisville loss guaranteed that. Clemson dominated Florida State and the rest of the ACC in 2015. The 2014 season — nine years ago — was Florida State's last serious pursuit of the national title until now.

Florida State's quality was apparent in that second-half demolition of LSU, a preseason top-five team. The Florida State defense smothered LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Florida State offense hummed thanks to Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman, an elite wide receiver who will create a lot of open space and one-on-one matchups for his teammates on the other side of the field. Quarterback Jordan Travis was very good last year, and he's back for one more season and a run at the national title. This team under coach Mike Norvell appears to have very few weaknesses.

Here are the Southern Miss-Florida State College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Football Odds: Southern Miss-Florida State Odds

Southern Miss Golden Eagles: +30.5 (-105)

Florida State Seminoles: -30.5 (-115)

Over: 52.5 (-115)

Under: 52.5 (-105)

How To Watch Southern Miss vs Florida State

TV: ACC Network

Stream: ESPN Plus

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT

*Watch Southern Miss vs Florida State LIVE on fuboTV (click for free trial)*

Why Southern Miss Could Cover the Spread

The Golden Eagles might cover the spread for the simple reason that when a high-profile college football team plays its season opener on a Sunday or Monday and then has a short week for the following Saturday's game, that team is either tired or in a position to rest some of its starters. Florida State is not likely to play its very best game here. The Seminoles are not likely to push their starters through this game, instead opting to play backups and get players some work while the starters get to rest a little more.

Keep in mind that Florida State has a very, very big game against Clemson on September 23. The Seminoles want to be fresh and healthy for that game. You could easily see FSU soft-pedal this game and cruise to a 20-point win without trying overly hard. If FSU had normal rest and was not coming off a game against LSU, this point spread would be at least a touchdown higher, probably 10 points higher.

Why Florida State Could Cover the Spread

The Seminoles might not play their best game on a short week following the LSU battle, but they're still so loaded at every position. Their athleticism is elite. They have stacks of playmakers and a lot of guys who will be eager to play in this game. Even if a few key starters are rested, the backups can come in and torch Southern Miss on both sides of the ball. Florida State can win this game by 35 even when not playing in high gear.

Final Southern Miss-Florida State Prediction & Pick

Florida State can win by 40 even with some backups playing. Take the Seminoles.

Final Southern Miss-Florida State Prediction & Pick: Florida State -30.5