Miami odds: 2018 college football picks and top insider predictions by proven expert Tom Fornelli is an amazing 108-79 in his popular Pick Six column the past two years. LSU Odds, Football National Championship Betting 2021 Playoff Line LSU Tigers Odds. +5000 Miami (FL) +5000 Michigan +6000 Penn State +5000 Washington +7500.

The No. 8 ranked Miami Hurricanes are set to take on the No. 25 ranked LSU Tigers on Sunday over Labor Day Weekend. Kickoff is set for 7:30 EST and will be televised nationally on ABC. The game will be played on a neutral site at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

Taking a look at the Week 1 college football odds, we see the books have the Hurricanes listed as a 3.5-point favorite with the total set at 47 points.

Vegas Game Preview & Betting Odds: Miami vs LSU

The Tigers are coming off a strong 9-4 season in 2017, where they went 6-2 in SEC play with their only two losses coming against Mississippi State and Alabama on the road. The strong showing in the conference helped cover up an ugly 24-21 loss at home to Troy as a 20-point favorite early in the season. The 9-wins is nice, but it’s not up to LSU’s high standards and many believe Orgeron is on the hot seat already.

The Tigers go into the 2018 season having won at least 8 games in 17 straight seasons, but could have a difficult time extending that streak. Not only is LSU’s schedule brutal, but they will be one of the least experienced teams in the country with just 10 starters back.

The Hurricanes were the talk of college football for a good chunk of last season. Miami started out 10-0 and were as high as No. 2 in the country before an ugly loss at Pitt in the regular season finale. They followed that up with an ugly 38-3 loss to Clemson in the ACC Title Game and a 34-24 loss to Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl to finish up at 10-3.

While it wasn’t the finish the Hurricanes were hoping for, it appears that head coach Mark Richt has this program headed back to being a legit national title contender. With 14 starters back (7 offense, 7 defense), there’s definitely a buzz around this team going into 2018.

Free College Football Pick & Betting Predictions: Miami -3.5

My early lean would have to be laying the small number with the Hurricanes. I know Miami is getting a lot of love right now, but they should be. This is one of the most talented teams in the country and I believe they are fully capable of winning the ACC and making the 4-team playoff.

Lsu Miami Spread

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It’s hard to find a weakness with this Miami team. The offense should be even better than it was a year ago. They get back senior quarterback Malik Rosier, who threw for over 3,000 yards with 26 touchdowns and another 468 yards and 5 scores on the ground. Rosier won’t have to do it all, as Miami gets back talented running back Travis Homer and are loaded up front on the offensive line. The Hurricanes do lose their top 2 receivers, but have a ton of big recruits ready to step in.

Defensively Miami should field one of the best stop units in the country. They have their top 5 tacklers back from last year’s team that allowed just 21.0 ppg and 363 ypg. They know how to get to the quarterback (44 sacks last year) and were one of the best in the country at forcing turnovers. Miami only lost the turnover battle twice all of last season.

I know LSU recruits extremely well and have some nice talent on the roster, but I just don’t have a good feeling about this program. I’m not a fan of Orgeron and believe this will be his last year in Baton Rouge. The biggest thing for me is the lack of experience that LSU has coming back for 2018. Not only do they have just 10 starters come back, but they bring back just 47 lettermen (only Kentucky has fewer returning lettermen in the SEC).

While there’s a good chance the defense will be sharp, I have major concerns with the offense, which has to replace their starting quarterback, top 4 rushers and top 3 receivers from last year. I know people are excited about Ohio State transfer Joe Burrow taking over at quarterback, but I’m not sold on him stepping in and putting up big numbers, as I just don’t feel there’s enough around him.

Lsu Miami Point Spread

I just think it’s asking a lot for the Tigers to keep this within a touchdown and wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Hurricanes won here by 20+ points.