Colorado State Rams vs. Nevada Wolfpack Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Colorado State Rams will look to win their first game of the season when they face the Nevada Wolfpack on Friday night. This game will take place on October 7, 2022, at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nevada, and it will be broadcast on FS1 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Updated on 04/27/2024

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COLORADO STATE RAMS vs. NEVADA WOLFPACK BETTING PREDICTION

It’s been a year to forget for the Colorado State Rams to this point. They lost all four of their non-conference games by 15 points or more, and they were hammered by FCS Sacramento State 41-10 in their most recent game. Colorado State has had two weeks to reflect on that defeat ahead of the start of Mountain West play, so the Rams will look to rise from the ranks of the winless when they play the Nevada Wolfpack on Friday. Nevada throttled Colorado State 52-10 in Fort Collins last year, but Jay Norvell was the Wolfpack coach in that game, and he is now with the Rams.

Score Prediction: Colorado State 23, Nevada 20
Best Bet: Colorado State +3.5 (-110)

COLORADO STATE RAMS vs. NEVADA WOLFPACK BETTING ODDS

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COLORADO STATE RAMS vs. NEVADA WOLFPACK BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Friday, Oct. 7, 2022
Matchup: Mountain West
Venue: Mackay Stadium
Location: Reno, Nevada
Time-TV: FS1, 10:30 p.m. ET
Expert Picks

COLORADO STATE RAMS BETTING ANALYSIS

This program knew it would take some time to pull itself out from under the wreckage of the disastrous Steve Addazio era, but no one expected Jay Norvell to be quite this bad in his first four games. Colorado State is averaging 10.8 PPG and surrendering 41.0 PPG, but the Rams have played a pretty difficult schedule as Middle Tennessee State and Washington State have been much better than expected.

Norvell brought Clay Millen with him from Nevada, and he still has faith in the young signal caller. Millen is completing 73.9% of his passes for 667 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions this season. Unfortunately, Millen might not be available this week after suffering a sprained AC Joint in his shoulder in the loss to Sacramento State. If he is unable to play, former Nevada commit Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi will get the start.

Colorado State has done a terrible job running the ball this year, and the offensive line play has been dreadful. The three top running backs for the Rams are all averaging no better than 3.3 YPC, and they have allowed a whopping 25 sacks in four games. Norvell has found something in wide receiver Tory Horton though, as Horton has 23 receptions for 427 yards and five touchdowns.

The Rams have been a little better on defense, but this team ranks 126^th in SP+. It might feel like a reach to take the points with Colorado State here since its such a short number, but Norvell knows Nevada inside and out, and he has had two weeks to prepare for his former team. 

NEVADA WOLFPACK BETTING ANALYSIS

For a couple weeks, the Nevada Wolfpack were the “best” team in the country. They knocked off lowly New Mexico State on the road in Week 0, and they followed that up with a nice win over a bad Texas State team in Week 1. However, they gave up 55 points in a loss to FCS Incarnate Word in their next game and were throttled by Iowa and Air Force in their last two games. They currently rank 123^rd out of 131 FBS teams in SP+.

Nevada is in a complete rebuild after Norvell left for Colorado State last December. The Wolfpack only had two returning starters on offense and four returning starters on defense, and they lost a whopping 33 lettermen this offseason.

New head coach Ken Wilson is using two quarterbacks, but neither Oklahoma State transfer Shane Illingworth nor JUCO transfer Nate Cox has been very effective. Cox has been the better option though, and he got the start last week against Air Force. He is completing 56.8% of his passes for 6.2 YPA with two touchdowns, and he is a more mobile quarterback than Illingworth.

Legacy running back Toa Taua (younger brother of the great Vai Taua) has run for 350 yards and five touchdowns this season, and he is the most dangerous player on this offense. Taua has the second-most receptions on Nevada, and he was the recipient of one of the Wolfpack’s two passing TDs on the year.

The Wolfpack have been a little better on defense this year, as they are surrendering 31.2 PPG and 418.2 YPG. However, three of the offenses they have faced are among the worst in the FBS, and they gave up a combined 103 points to Incarnate Word and Air Force. Bentlee Sanders has been a bright spot with four interceptions and a pick six, and Dom Peterson has four sacks.

COLORADO STATE RAMS vs. NEVADA WOLFPACK BETTING TRENDS

• Colorado State is 0-10 ATS in its last 10 games.
• Nevada is 2-4 ATS in its last six games.
• The total has gone UNDER in four of Colorado State's last five games.
• The total has gone OVER in six of Nevada's last eight games.
• The total has gone UNDER in seven of Nevada's last nine games against Colorado State.
• Colorado State is 0-10 SU in its last 10 games.
• Nevada is 10-2 SU in its last 12 home games.
• Colorado State is 1-4 ATS in its last five games against Nevada.
• Colorado State is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games against Nevada.
• Colorado State is 0-5 ATS in its last five road games.
• Colorado State is 1-4 ATS in its last five road games against Nevada.