Middle Tennessee · away
at
Final MTSU 13 – 23 JXST
Saturday 2026-09-26 19:00 · AmFirst Stadium
Jacksonville State · home
GameNewsMismatchesTeamPersonnelBettingResults
Line has moved +0.5 since we first saw it (JXST -7.5 to JXST -7).

Betting

Spread
MTSU favoured
Market JXST −7Ours JXST −7.8
JXST favoured
gap 0.8 toward JXST
Grey dot: the market · gold: our card line · small dot: FEI (bcftoys.com). A gap is a reason to look, not to bet.

Vegas

TeamSpreadPointsMoneylineWin%Kalshi
MTSU away+7.021.8+23029.0%29%
JXST home-7.028.8-28571.0%72%
Total50.5
JXST -7.5 when first seen, now JXST -7 · total 51.5 then, 50.5 now. The closing line: this game was played before live prices were being collected.

Our model — cards

TeamSpreadPointsWin%vs book
MTSU away+8.021.329.9%+1.0
JXST home-8.029.270.1%-1.0
Totalno total model

FEI — bcftoys.com

TeamSpreadPointsWin%vs book
MTSU away+4.022.438.8%-3.0
JXST home-4.026.661.2%+3.0
Total49.0-1.5
"Points" is the implied score for each side: a spread and a total are the margin and the sum, so solving them back out says what each team is expected to score. A favourite is shown negative, the way a book quotes it. "vs book" is that model's line for the team minus the book's, so a plus means the model makes them the weaker side. Our cards are EA College Football 27 launch ratings rolled up; the gap between two teams is multiplied by a scale fitted on this season's results (real margins have run about 1.8 times the raw gap), plus 2.5 points of home field; the win chance comes from how far 7,877 FBS results landed from a line. FEI is Brian Fremeau's projection, shown as a reference only: measured on his own results pages it went 49.9% against the spread over 3,101 games (2022–25), and the pickers never see it. Neither model has shown it beats a closing line.

Team ratings

Points vs an average FBS teamMTSUJXST
Offence (cards)-5.0114th-2.589th
Defence (cards)-1.199th-0.783rd
Card team rating-6.1110th-3.387th
SP+ (CFBD's rating, theirs)-16.0122nd-2.277th
FEI (bcftoys.com, theirs)-0.8120th-0.6109th
F+ (FEI + SP+, theirs)-1.2123rd-0.598th
Card lineJXST -7.8 (the gap ×1.87, fitted on 215 games, plus 2.5 home field)
Returning production33%50%

Cards are EA College Football 27's Week 3 Ratings (EA re-rates weekly; we take the newest) with CFBD's measured stats shown beside them; the team rating rolls EA's starters up with the NFL position weights, unmeasured for college. SP+ is opponent-adjusted; ours is not yet.

Quarterbacks

Roman Gagliano MTSU73 overall · Sophomore
Points added per play0.268
Completion60.8%
TD–INT8-1
Pass attempts, median game29
Pass yards, median game208
Rush yards, median game20
Games this season4
Team throws per game32.5
Caden Creel JXST77 overall · Junior
Points added per play0.309
Completion69.0%
TD–INT9-4
Pass attempts, median game24
Pass yards, median game241
Rush yards, median game54
Games this season5
Team throws per game26.0
The starter comes from the maintained depth chart (cfbdepth.com). The rating is EA College Football 27's Week 3 Ratings (EA re-rates weekly; we take the newest); everything under it is what CFBD has measured this season, as a median game rather than a total so a man who missed time is not shrunk.

Against the number

TeamATSCover%vs spreadO/Uvs total
MTSU away3-175%+4.60-4-6.0
JXST home3-260%+0.63-2-0.5

Against DraftKings' closing number, this season. A record of what happened and nothing more — cover rates do not predict, which is why the pickers never see them.

Streak trends

No 4+ streak in any split for either side.

Cover, win/loss and over/under streaks in every split (home, away, favourite, underdog, division, primetime, big favourite), counted against the closing line. Measured over every FBS season on file: cover and over/under streaks revert (fade 6+); college win/loss streaks tell you nothing against the spread (50%), so they are shown here but the picker ignores them. These never reach the pickers' bundle; the "streak" row on the picks board bets on its own.

Venue, weather, rest and travel

VenueAmFirst Stadium · turf · 650 ft
Forecast at kickoff75°F, wind 4 mph, rain 0.00 in
RestMTSU 7 days · JXST 7 days
TravelMTSU 144 miles, body clock 6:00pm at kickoff, +21 ft elevation

Who is out (reported)

Nothing in the news for either side. College publishes no official injury report, so absence of news is not a clean bill of health.

Covers.com injury tags

TeamPlayerStatusSinceNote
JXSTN. Hoyt WRquestionable UndisclosedSun, Sep 27Hoyt is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and it remains to be seen if he will be available against Kennesaw State on Wednesday, October 7th.
JXSTA. Watkins WRquestionable UndisclosedSun, Sep 27Watkins is battling with an undisclosed injury, and it remains to be seen if he will be available against Kennesaw State on Wednesday, October 7th.
JXSTA. Paul RBquestionable UndisclosedSun, Sep 27Paul is battling with an undisclosed injury, and it remains to be seen if he will be available against Kennesaw State on Wednesday, October 7th.
JXSTJ. Savage RBquestionable UndisclosedSun, Sep 27Savage is hampered by an undisclosed injury, and it remains to be seen if he will suit up against Kennesaw State on Wednesday, October 7th.
JXSTF. Baret Jr. WRquestionable UndisclosedSun, Sep 27Baret Jr has been out of the lineup due to undisclosed injury, and it is uncertain if he will play against Kennesaw State on Wednesday, October 7th.