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#303 Florida International +13 over Louisiana Tech 8:00 PM CT
Mike MacIntyre inherited teams in rough shape at San Jose State and Colorado and turned those programs around quickly. He took over an FIU program that was a combined 1-16 in 2020 and 2021 and got four wins last season including a notable win in this matchup against Louisiana Tech. The Panthers should offer considerable improvement on defense this season after allowing 37 points per game last year and FIU has a veteran quarterback in Grayson James for significant continuity in key positions. FIU won a pair of road games outright last season as a double-digit underdog and the Panthers were only +6 in last season’s meeting at home as this year’s game features a significant adjustment in the move to Ruston. Once a feared place to play, Louisiana Tech is just 2-2 S/U in FBS home games under Sonny Cumbie allowing 134 points in four Conference USA home games last season. The defense for Louisiana Tech allowed 469 yards per game last season and lost eight of last season’s top 10 leading tacklers. Parker McNeil was a very effective quarterback when he was healthy for the Bulldogs last season, following Cumbie from Texas Tech as he was very comfortable in that offense. Expectations are elevated for Louisiana Tech thanks to a big name transfer quarterback Hank Bachmeier from Boise State. Bachmeier never matched his success as a freshman with the Broncos and left the team last season after he played poorly and was beat out of the starting spot a few games into the season. Even with far more talent around him he never reached 63 percent completions in a season and simply plugging him into this offense won’t be an overnight success as most transfer quarterbacks struggle in the first few games, no matter how accomplished they may be. The front seven for FIU has a lot of a potential against a mediocre Bulldogs offensive line and while most are projecting Louisiana Tech to be improved this season, the case for the Bulldogs passing up FIU in the standings isn’t as clear cut as this valuation represents.