The Massachusetts Minutemen won their matchup against the New Mexico State Aggies by a score of 41-30 which already gives them a chance to surpass the 2.5 over/under win total they had entering the season. The Minutemen were 7-point underdogs against the Aggies but won outright as an underdog. 

Massachusetts scored 41 total points while compiling 389 total yards offensively, 192 passing, and 197 rushing yards, however, they were outgained by New Mexico State in all three categories as the Aggies had 458 total yards, 248 passing yards, and 210 rushing yards the difference in the game was the three turnovers that the Minutemen forced in the win. 

Taisun Phommachanh led the team in passing and rushing, completing 10 of 17 attempts for 192 yards while adding 96 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Christian Wells led the team in receiving with one reception for 68 yards.

The Auburn Tigers have a new head coach for the 3^rd time in the last four seasons after the Tigers fired Bryan Harsin and hired Hugh Freeze as head coach. This will be Freeze’s 2^nd tenure as a head coach in the SEC after serving as head coach for the Ole Miss Rebels from 2012-2016. 

Freeze was fired from Ole Miss due to recruiting violations, however, he most recently served as head coach for the Liberty Flames from 2019-2022. Hugh Freeze hired Philip Montgomery as the Offensive Coordinator and Ron Roberts as the Defensive Coordinator. Montgomery most recently served as the head coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane while Roberts most recently served as the Defensive Coordinator for the Baylor Bears from 2020-2022. 

The Tigers enter the season with an over/under win total of 6.5 wins which means they are projected to make a bowl game in Freeze’s first season at head coach and based on Vegas odds are projected to be the 7^th best team in the SEC behind the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, Tennessee Volunteers, and Ole Miss Rebels.

BookMaker has the Auburn Tigers listed as 35-point favorites at home against the Massachusetts Minutemen on Saturday afternoon for week 1 of the college football season. This will be the first time that these teams have played each other in college football. 

Massachusetts finished last season 5-7 ATS overall, 3-4 ATS on the road, and 4-7 ATS as an underdog, and after the first game of the season is 1-0 ATS overall, 1-0 ATS on the road, and 1-0 ATS as an underdog while Auburn finished 5-6-1 ATS overall, 3-5 ATS at home, and 2-3 ATS as a favorite.

Auburn is the more talented team entering this season as evidenced by the 35-point spread and their win total of 6.5 wins while Massachusetts has an over/under win total of 2.5 wins. The Minutemen won last week because they were able to force three turnovers while not turning the ball over. 

I don’t think that will be the case again as I look for a much improved Auburn Tigers team to take the field in week 1 of the college football season and to have an easy win in their season opener which is why I am taking the Auburn Tigers -35 on BookMaker for this matchup on Saturday afternoon.