The Southern Miss Golden Eagles take on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette, La. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Southern Miss is favored by 3.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -170. Louisiana, meanwhile, comes in as a +3.5 underdog and is +145 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 53.5 points.
Here’s my Southern Miss vs. Louisiana prediction and college football picks for Saturday, October 18.
Southern Miss vs Louisiana Prediction
- Southern Miss vs. Louisiana Pick: Under 53.5
My Louisiana vs. Southern Miss best bet is on both teams to go under the total. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Southern Miss vs Louisiana Odds
| Southern Miss Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3.5 -105 | 53.5 -110o / -110u | -170 |
| Louisiana Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3.5 -115 | 53.5 -110o / -110u | +145 |
- Southern Miss vs Louisiana Spread: Southern Miss -3.5, Louisiana +3.5
- Southern Miss vs Louisiana Over/Under: 53.5 Points
- Southern Miss vs Louisiana Moneyline: Southern Miss -170, Louisiana +145
Southern Miss vs Louisiana College Football Betting Preview
Saturday's Southern Miss vs. Louisiana college football game in the Sun Belt fits a historically profitable betting system from our Bet Labs database.
Called "High Powered Unders," this college football system is designed to take advantage of inflated totals when both teams have strong scoring averages.
Games where the home and visiting offenses average at least 24 points often lead oddsmakers and bettors to expect high-scoring affairs, especially when the closing total comes in at 51 or higher.
However, these high expectations don't always match game reality, particularly in the regular season before postseason urgency changes play-calling.
Added factors, such as humidity above 40%, wind speeds of at least 8 MPH and totals that don't move more than a few points from open to close, create environments where offenses struggle more than anticipated.
With the home team playing within its first 11 games of the year, the season is still in progress, and game plans remain conservative at times, leading to a slower tempo and lower scoring than the market projects.
This combination of public perception, weather influence and modest line movement creates reliable value on the under.
This system boasts an all-time record of 493-342-9, good for a winning percentage of 59% and an ROI of 14.2%.
Southern Miss vs Louisiana Pick, Betting Analysis
As the system implies, both of these teams boast solid offenses. However, this under is based on the strength of the defenses.
Southern Miss and Louisiana have been two of the better Group of Five defenses against the pass.
In fact, the Golden Eagles rank 44th nationally in Passing Success Rate allowed and 34th in both Passing PPA allowed and passing explosiveness allowed. The Ragin' Cajuns, meanwhile, sit 17th in passing explosiveness allowed and 48th in Passing PPA allowed.
It also doesn't hurt that Louisiana ranks 12th out of 14 Sun Belt teams in total offense, racking up 326.8 yards per game.
Given the system at play and the matchup on the field, we'll take the under in this Sun Belt showdown on Saturday evening.
Pick: Under 53.5
Southern Miss vs Louisiana Betting Trends
