The University of Massachusetts Minutemen and the Auburn Tigers are both looking to start their seasons off on the right foot when they meet in Auburn, Alabama this weekend at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a UMass-Auburn prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Minutemen will be looking to build on their early success and upset the Tigers in this matchup. Their offense showed promise in the previous game, putting up a good number of points. They will look to continue their offensive momentum against the Tigers. They put up 41 points in a 41-30 upset win over New Mexico State. It will be up to UMass to keep that offensive firepower going against the Auburn Tigers who will be able to put up points in bunches.

The Tigers will be playing their first game of the season, which means they will be eager to make a strong impression and start their season on a positive note after a subpar 2022 season where they just went 5-7, this game will set the tone for the 2023 season. With a fresh start, the Tigers will have the opportunity to showcase their offensive capabilities and establish their game plan against the Minutemen with some key new pieces to this year's offense like quarterback Payton Thorne who transferred from Michigan State after coming two seasons as their starting quarterback amassing 5,919 yards and 46 touchdowns with 21 interceptions while completing over 60% of his passes both seasons.

Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: UMass-Auburn Odds

UMass: +35.5 (-112)

Auburn: -35.5 (-108)

Over: 51.5 (-105)

Under: 51.5 (-115)

How to Watch UMass vs. Auburn

TV: ESPN

Stream: ESPN App

Time: 3:30 PM ET / 12:30 AM PT

*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why UMass Will Cover The Spread

The Minutemen are coming off a solid win in their first game of the season, where they put up 41 points against New Mexico State and scored the big upset to start the season. This was a good confidence booster for UMass, and it showed that they can compete against a tough opponent and showing that they can fight through adversity to come away with the win as a sizable underdog.

The Minutemen rushed for 197 yards on 37 attempts against New Mexico State, and they are led by their Georgia Tech transfer quarterback Taisun Phommachanh who rushed for 96 yards and one touchdown on 17 attempts. He also amassed 192 yards through the air completing 10 of his 17 passes. Their running game scored all four of their touchdowns with Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams gaining 79 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, and Anthony Simpson scoring their fourth rushing touchdown. It is up to UMass to keep that Auburn offense in check to get this running game going and if they are able to do that they can certainly cover this spread and spring for back-to-back upsets.

Why Auburn Will Cover The Spread

The Auburn Tigers are a 35.5-point favorite against the UMass Minutemen in their season opener on Saturday. While UMass is a much-improved team under new head coach Jim Mastro, the Tigers have too many advantages to not cover the spread.

Michigan State transfer quarterback Payton Thorne, who threw for 2,679 yards and 19 touchdowns last season is an upgrade over last year's starter Robby Ashford. Auburn also has a talented group of running backs, led by Jarquez Hunter and Brian Battie after the departure of star running back Tank Bigsby. The Minutemen have a good running game of their own, but they will have a hard time keeping up with Auburn's offense. The Tigers also get off to a good start in front of their home crowd and we all know that playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium is a different animal which could throw UMass off their game and have them spiral out of control early.

Final UMass-Auburn Prediction & Pick

The Auburn Tigers are set to put their last season behind them and start this season with a bang when they take on the visiting UMass Minutemen. The Tigers will look to pound the rock as they have done in the past but with the addition of Thorne, they will be able to push the ball downfield a lot better this season. As for UMass, their Georgia Tech transfer Taisun Phommachanh will have the entire game on his shoulders in a hostile environment. He still has a long way to go to be a competent passer so if Auburn makes UMass play from behind and a lot of long and distance situations they will drown UMass and blow them out of the water in this matchup to cover this lofty spread in week one.

Final UMass-Auburn Prediction & Pick: Auburn Tigers -35.5 (-108), Under 51.5 (-115)