FIU vs. Louisiana Tech Predictions, Picks & Odds Week 0: Whose Ceiling is Higher?

Conference USA features a
new look this season with four new teams, but two of the five returning teams
from 2022 face each other when the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs host the FIU Panthers. Read on for our FIU vs. Louisiana Tech picks based on
the best college football odds.

FIU
was 4-4 through eight games last year but disappointingly ended on a four-game
losing streak, with three of those four losses coming by 34-plus points. The
Panthers begin Year 2 of the Mike MacIntyre era and look for their first
winning record since going 9-4 under Butch Davis in 2018.  

Louisiana
Tech finished with an identical 2-6 conference record as FIU and one fewer win
overall (3-9 overall record). The Bulldogs were CUSA’s only winless team on the
road last year (0-7) and, like FIU, are in the second year of a new head
coaching regime under Sonny Cumbie.                     

Here
is our best FIU vs. Louisiana Tech prediction and college football picks (odds via our best college football
betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

FIU vs.
Louisiana Tech prediction: Week 0

Louisiana Tech -11
(-113 via BetRivers) ⭐⭐⭐

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A double-digit spread is a lot to lay in a matchup between two
teams that finished in the basement of the conference last year. But while FIU
retains its starting quarterback, we are more excited about the ceiling of the
Louisiana Tech offense after bringing in a high-profile transfer to be its
signal caller.

Former Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier is a veteran who
played in 29 games in four seasons and heads Cumbie’s air raid attack that
produced five games of 34-plus points in the head coach’s first year.

The Bulldogs’ offense has ranked in the top 60 of SP+ in three consecutive seasons, and
Bachmeier has an excellent wide receiver duo in Smoke Harris and Cyrus Allen to
help get him acclimated quickly. Harris, in particular, ranks third among all
active NCAA players in receptions (224), sixth in receptions per game (4.57),
and sixth in receiving touchdowns (19).

While the Bulldogs had the second-worst scoring defense in the
conference last year (455 points allowed), their weaknesses will not be
exploited by an FIU offense that averaged 18.7 points per game, finished 115th
or worse in EPA/pass and passing explosiveness, and returns just one of its
three wide receivers who caught at least 25 passes last year.

FIU is still a team that lost 17 consecutive games to FBS teams.
While MacIntyre eventually turned around the San Jose State and Colorado
programs in his tenure, those turnarounds did not result in winning records
until years three and four at those respective schools.   

FIU vs.
Louisiana Tech best odds

BetRivers (-113)

With
all five of our best sports betting apps in unison with a -11.5 point spread, BetRivers is
our easy choice for our go-to shop to back the favorites, especially since it
does not break the bank with a price of -113.

For those looking to wager on the
underdogs, any of the following five sportsbooks offer the best value, but be
sure to monitor the odds closer to kickoff in case there is any line movement
in the next 24 hours.

FIU vs.
Louisiana Tech odds

FIU vs.
Louisiana Tech odds analysis