Tonight’s ESPN Thursday night college football pick takes us to Boone Pickens Stadium where the Texas A&M Aggies and Oklahoma State Cowboys open up Big 12 South competition.
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Texas A&M Aggies vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 30th, 7:30 ET
Game Location: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK
TV/Radio Broadcast: ESPN, XM, Sirius

NCAA Football Odds: Texas A&M Aggies (+3) -110 VS. Oklahoma State Cowboys (-3) -110: Over/Under 66

If you’re a fan of offensive fireworks on the college gridiron, then Thursday night’s battle between the Aggies and Cowboys is one you surely don’t want to miss! Both clubs enter this spot ranked amongst the top 10 in total yards gained with Texas A&M churning out 501.3 YPG (#9) and Oklahoma State leading the country amassing an insane 596 YPG.

Granted, the opposition has been far from top notch, but those are some pretty gaudy numbers to kick start the 2010-11 college football pick season. Both clubs were on byes a week ago, so the offensive machines should be firing on all cylinders for this divisional tussle.

A&M signal caller Jerrod Johnson has gotten off to a great start for head coach Mike Sherman’s offense. The senior has already thrown for 865 yards averaging 7.94 YPP with a TD/INT ratio of 7:4. His dual threat ability has also seen him gain 60 yards and hit pay dirt once.

He had a miserable performance his last time out at home against Florida International whom he completed just 35.4 percent of his 31 passes against while getting picked off four times. Look for the team captain and heart and soul of the program to rebound in a big way under the bright lights of Stillwater.

The Cowboys have struggled defending the pass entering this Week 5 college football pick match-up ranked 83 rd overall allowing 237 YPG. Most of the damage coming in the form of the Troy Trojans and Tulsa Golden Hurricane who both also rank in the Top 15 in total offense.

With the Texas A&M Aggies boasting a pair of backs in Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray averaging 5.8 YPC and 4.9 YPC respectively, A&M holds a distinct advantage when matched up against the Cowboys stop unit. It will be up to them to believe, perform and not turn the ball over to continue lighting the scoreboard up.

Though Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden and running back Kendall Hunter have also gotten off to fantastic starts, the duo is yet to go up against a defense with a pulse. Washington State, Troy, and Tulsa all rank amongst the worst scoring and overall defenses in the country. The Aggies currently rank 18 th in points allowed (14.3 PPG) and 10 th in total yards allowed (255.7 YPG); by far the stiffest opposition to date.

NCAA Football Insider Tip : Entering its bye, the kids form College Station got a major wake-up call from a little known FIU Golden Panthers squad. A&M found itself down 14 in the 4 th quarter but found a way to rattle off 21 straight points to pull out the must have 27-20 victory. The club has faced adversity and come back to win. While the Oklahoma State Cowboys did get a scare from Troy, Gundy’s kids had the game well in hand in the 4 th quarter. It hasn’t experienced the pressure packed situation of having to come up with the big play to win a game.

On top of that, A&M is playing with double revenge after falling to the Cowpokes each of the L/2 times including last year’s 36-31 defeat as 4.5-point home pups.

With both Texas and Oklahoma looking to be much lesser versions than in years past, this could just be the year the home of the 12 th Man comes out in full force and takes down the Big 12 South in surprising fashion. For that to happen, they’ll need to secure the college football pick win as underdogs – that’s exactly what I expect them to do tonight!

My NCAA Football Predictions: Texas A&M Aggies (+3) -110

Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com