Arkansas State vs South Alabama Preview: Best Bet for Tuesday, October 14

The Arkansas State Red Wolves will fly south to take on the South Alabama Jaguars in a nice little Sun Belt matchup on Tuesday, October 14. Both teams have had tough starts to the season, but in all fairness, both played some pretty tough Power 4 opponents earlier in the year.

The Red Wolves are currently sitting at 2-4, but they just pulled off a huge upset over Texas State back on October 4. On the other hand, South Alabama has dropped five straight after its season-opening win at home over Morgan State.

How will this one play out? We’ll dive into which team has the edge in each statistical category. Get our top predictions and best bet here. Best of luck, sports betting family.

Opening Odds for Arkansas State vs South Alabama

Oddsmakers are making South Alabama a moderate favorite in this game, as the opening line priced the team from Mobile as a 5.5-point favorite. A little bit of money has shown up for the home team, so the price now sits in the 7 to 7.5-point range at most online sportsbooks. Be sure to shop around for the best price.

There should be plenty of offense in this game, which is nothing new for the Fun Belt (lol). The opening total was 57.5, but some sharp money on the Over has pushed the line up to its current number of 58.5. Both defenses have struggled so far, so this total may continue to rise.

Can Arkansas State Build Off Last Week’s Win?

Arkansas State got a much-needed victory at home ten days ago as 14.5-point underdogs. The Red Wolves did most of their damage with QB Jaylen Raynor, who threw two TDs and ran for two more in the 31-30 win over Texas State. Arkansas State was out-yarded 521-398, but they did a fabulous job of scoring TDs in the red zone.

The Red Wolves’ defense has been ugly this season, to say the least. They’re one of the worst in the country in yards per play allowed and yards per rush allowed. That could be a huge problem against this South Alabama running game.

Will South Alabama Finally Turn the Corner?

South Alabama lost star QB Gio Lopez to North Carolina during the summer, and they’ve looked lost without him at times. The Jags just lost a heartbreaker in OT to Troy in their last outing. While that loss isn’t that bad looking, blowout losses to North Texas and Coastal Carolina tell us that this team doesn’t have the horses it once did.

That being said, the Jags do a great job of running the ball, as they rank 45th in the nation in yards per rush. Kentrel Bullock does most of the heavy lifting in that department, as he’s run for 496 yards and 5 TDs already this season. Arkansas State may have to stack the box to try and slow him down tonight.

Best Bet: Arkansas State +7.5 (-115) (Hard Rock)

Just for full disclosure, I played this for a little bit less than my normal wager size just because the Red Wolves’ defense has been pretty much non-existent this season. That being said, I made this line Arkansas State +5.5, so there’s enough value on this bad boy for a small play for some Tuesday action.

Why in the world is a 1-5 team laying over a TD in a conference game? I get that South Alabama has an impressive rushing attack, but they always seem to shoot themselves in the foot at the worst possible time. The Jags were blown out in their last home game against a pretty bad Coastal Carolina squad.

Arkansas State has an ugly statistical profile, but Butch Jones has steadily improved this program every year since he’s been in Jonesboro. I also like that the Red Wolves will have arguably the best athlete on the field tonight in QB Jaylen Raynor, who has thrown 8 TDs and run for 4 more. Give me Arky State to keep this one close. Good luck, sports betting family.