San Diego State Aztecs vs UCLA Bruins Point Spread Picks

I've got two lopsided class mismatches in one ticket tonight, because two prices this heavy only make sense once you combine them into something reasonable. UCLA opened its season with a 45-24 win on the road at Cal, the first real sign that new head coach Bob Chesney's system can move the ball against legitimate competition, and now the Bruins get their first game at home all year. San Diego State piled up its own numbers against an FCS opponent to open the season, but the Aztecs are stepping up several levels in class tonight, and I don't see them keeping pace with a UCLA team that's already shown it can hang with a Power Four defense on the road. Clemson took a rough one to open its year, an ugly loss at LSU that left the Tigers still sorting out the quarterback job between Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds, with Dabo Swinney yet to settle on one. None of that matters tonight. Georgia Southern needed an FCS opponent just to get its own season started, and the gap between a Sun Belt team and a Power Four program at home is wide no matter who's taking snaps for Clemson. The Tigers get to clean up what went wrong at LSU against an opponent with nowhere near the horses to make them pay for it. Combine UCLA at -456 and Clemson at -900 into a two-team parlay at -282, and you're risking a little to bank two favorites that should both be standing at the final whistle tonight.

UCLA beat Coastal Carolina 27-13, and considering it had to replace QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and running back Zach Charbonnet, it was a satisfying win (the Chanticleers were outscored 20-0 in the second half). Five-star recruit Dante Moore completed 7 of 12 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns for a QB rating of 107.6 and Ethan Garbers was 10 of 17 for 121 yards. Carson Steele and T.J. Harden each ran for 76 yards on a combined 24 carries. So the Bruins do have some incoming talent and the defense held the Chanticllers to 56 rushing yards. San Diego State was a 34-point favorite, but managed to win 36-28 over Idaho State after winning the opener 20-13 against Ohio University. Jalen Mayden was a one-man show for the Aztecs as he threw for 85 yards on 13 completions and ran for 132 yards and two TDs on just eight carries. If the Bruins can concentrate on containing Mayden they should have no trouble covering the number. UCLA is 5-1 ATS its past six games as road favorites of 10.5 or higher. San Diego State went UNDER by 15 points against Ohio, but lost the UNDER last week as Idaho State scored 15 points in the fourth quarter. UCLA went UNDER by a whopping 27 points against Coastal Carolina. Take UCLA and the UNDER.