The lone Thursday night college football game features a Sun Belt matchup between the 4-6 Ragin' Cajuns and 5-5 Red Wolves at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.
SBR's Isaiah Sirois shares his Louisiana vs Arkansas State best bets and TD picks:
Jaylen Raynor Under 265.5 passing yards (-115 via BetMGM)
"Arkansas State passes at a high clip, but the Red Wolves will run when they can. That’s precisely what we saw versus Georgia Southern, as both Arkansas State running backs totaled 14-plus carries and 120-plus yards on the ground, leaving Raynor with only 216 passing yards.
A similar game script appears likely on Thursday night. Louisiana ranks second-worst in defensive line yards, trailing only–you guessed it–Georgia Southern. The Cajuns are also third-worst in defensive stuff rate. Arkansas State’s talented tandem should run wild.
Raynor is averaging 245.4 passing yards per game, so this is already a high total for him."
Shelton Sampson Jr. Over 57.5 receiving yards (-115 via BetMGM)
"Wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr., an LSU transfer, has made a splash for Louisiana over the last few weeks. He tallied 74 receiving yards versus Troy, 138 versus South Alabama, and 80 versus Texas State. He is now averaging 63.1 receiving yards per game on the year.
Sampson’s receiving prop total of 57.5 is surprisingly low given his dominance in conference play. It’s not like the Arkansas State secondary is particularly scary, either. The Red Wolves rank 119th in yards allowed per pass attempt (8.3), which is fourth-worst in the Sun Belt.
I like Sampson to stay hot as Louisiana does its best to keep up with Arkansas State while on the road."
Devin Spencer anytime touchdown scorer (+176 via Caesars)
"I love the Arkansas State running backs on Thursday, but there aren’t rushing props open for either of them, perhaps due to the unclear split in the workload. Still, Spencer’s anytime touchdown scorer odds of +176 (36.2%) at Caesars stand out. Bet365 has this at +135 (42.6%).
Spencer has been the more efficient of the two Arkansas State running backs, out-gaining Kenyon Clay 428 to 405 on 28 fewer carries. Although those haven’t translated into more touchdowns, don’t be surprised to see Spencer score a breakaway touchdown – or see more volume due to his far better rate of yards per carry."
Louisiana vs. Arkansas State anytime touchdown scorer odds
SBR's Isaiah Sirois shares his Louisiana vs Arkansas State best bets and TD picks:
Jaylen Raynor Under 265.5 passing yards (-115 via BetMGM)
"Arkansas State passes at a high clip, but the Red Wolves will run when they can. That’s precisely what we saw versus Georgia Southern, as both Arkansas State running backs totaled 14-plus carries and 120-plus yards on the ground, leaving Raynor with only 216 passing yards.
A similar game script appears likely on Thursday night. Louisiana ranks second-worst in defensive line yards, trailing only–you guessed it–Georgia Southern. The Cajuns are also third-worst in defensive stuff rate. Arkansas State’s talented tandem should run wild.
Raynor is averaging 245.4 passing yards per game, so this is already a high total for him."
Shelton Sampson Jr. Over 57.5 receiving yards (-115 via BetMGM)
"Wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr., an LSU transfer, has made a splash for Louisiana over the last few weeks. He tallied 74 receiving yards versus Troy, 138 versus South Alabama, and 80 versus Texas State. He is now averaging 63.1 receiving yards per game on the year.
Sampson’s receiving prop total of 57.5 is surprisingly low given his dominance in conference play. It’s not like the Arkansas State secondary is particularly scary, either. The Red Wolves rank 119th in yards allowed per pass attempt (8.3), which is fourth-worst in the Sun Belt.
I like Sampson to stay hot as Louisiana does its best to keep up with Arkansas State while on the road."
Devin Spencer anytime touchdown scorer (+176 via Caesars)
"I love the Arkansas State running backs on Thursday, but there aren’t rushing props open for either of them, perhaps due to the unclear split in the workload. Still, Spencer’s anytime touchdown scorer odds of +176 (36.2%) at Caesars stand out. Bet365 has this at +135 (42.6%).
Spencer has been the more efficient of the two Arkansas State running backs, out-gaining Kenyon Clay 428 to 405 on 28 fewer carries. Although those haven’t translated into more touchdowns, don’t be surprised to see Spencer score a breakaway touchdown – or see more volume due to his far better rate of yards per carry."
Louisiana vs. Arkansas State anytime touchdown scorer odds