We get what I would call a "perfect Thursday night slate" in college football a few times a season. Well, I am happy to announce that tonight is a perfect Thursday night slate in college football.

I will not lie to yall, I have been struggling as of late, but for whatever reason, I am still money with my weekday college football picks. For those of you asking, I do not really love the board tonight as I believe each of these games is a lot closer than the books are telling us, but that will not stop me from finding the best bets for each game on the slate this evening.

Even with my recent struggles, I am still hitting at a 59.4% clip this season, and if you have tailed my picks for the last few years, you know that I am either extremely cold or extremely hot; there is no in-between. Unfortunately for the haters and losers, I feel a hot streak coming.

Anyway, let's get straight into the pick for tonight. If you decide to follow our picks, we ask that you do so responsibly.

*Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook

UL Lafayette (-1.5) @ Southern Miss O/U 42.5

Southern Miss comes into this game with one of the worst offenses in the FBS, yet they are still finding ways to win some games. They started the season 0-2 with losses to a good Liberty team by two points and Miami (FL), who has been hilariously bad but talented, so we can give the Golden Eagles a pass. They have now won four of their last five, including two straight.

However, that offense is a genuine concern in this matchup. The Golden Eagles rank 120th in Rush Success, 107th in Line Yards, and 106th in Finishing Drives. Somehow, they are ranked 66th in Pass Success and picking up just under seven yards per pass, but the Golden Eagles are also 121st in Pass Blocking, and Louisiana's defense matches up well against this weak offense.

The Ragin' Cajuns' defense is ranked 56th in Rush Success, 31st in Pass Success, 10th in Finishing Drives, and 7th by PFF in Coverage. Southern Miss likes to rely on the ground game with Frank Gore Jr., who is picking up just under 5.0 yards per carry. Still, the Golden Eagles do not have a good offensive line, are not efficient on the ground, and even if their passing game was remotely reliable, this is a bad matchup for this team.

Beautiful pass by Ben Wooldridge to Dontae Fleming for the touchdown.

pic.twitter.com/z7qftLZWKh
— Brendan Moore (@bmoorecfb) October 13, 2022

Lousiana also has their starting quarterback off the injury list, but backup Ben Wooldridge has been perfect for the Ragin Cajuns, as he has 10 touchdowns to only one interception. Although Southern Miss has a solid defense, they are only ranked 89th in Pass Rush, and the Golden Eagles are 78th in Pass Coverage, according to PFF.

Southern Miss has covered seven straight against Louisiana, but I do not trust this offense to keep up in this game. It may be risky, but I love Louisiana as a 1.5-point road favorite.

Pick: La Lafayette -1.5

Virginia Tech (+13.5) @ NC State O/U 39

I came into this season loving the Wolfpack, and I still do in some sense. However, they started the season sluggishly, and now that Devin Leary is out for the season, this team has kind of lost all hope. The good news is that this team is still immensely talented on both sides of the ball, especially on defense.

Defensively, NC State ranked 30th in Rush Success, 9th in Pass Success and Line yards, 10th in Finishing Drives, and 25th in coverage, according to PFF. They are not an excellent tackling team, but they are going up against an offense that has struggled to find any consistency.

The Hokies are in a down season as they have lost four straight, and their only two wins on the season came against FCS Wofford and an extremely bad Boston College team. This is primarily due to their offense being woefully inept, but when starting quarterback Grant Wells is rated as the worst quarterback in the ACC, you do not have a prayer of offensive success, especially when your ground game is only picking up 3.2 yards per rush and they are 123rd in Rush Success.

Virginia Tech, meet Grant Wells. pic.twitter.com/Sn5WLt9KB6
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 2, 2022

Still, I do not like this NC State offense without Leary, and they are going up against a defense that ranks 44th in Rush Success, 12th in Pass Success, and 19th in Pass Rush. I cannot stress enough how much more talented the Wolfpack are, and although backup quarterback Jack Chambers has been fine, but there is a clear drop-off in potential with him in charge of this offense.

NC State will win this game just because talent always rises to the occasion in these types of matchups, but this will be an ugly offensive performance with two ineffective offenses and two terrific defenses. I got this number at 14, but I would bet Virginia Tech at anything over 12 points. This will be a hold-on-to-your-ass bet, but I love this number in this spot.

Pick: Virginia Tech +13.5

Utah (-7) @ Washington State O/U 56.5

I am not kidding when I say I think this is the most excited I have been for a college football game in a few weeks. There is only one thing I love more than #Pac12AfterDark, and that is #Pac12AfterDark on a Thursday night. Also, this game features my beloved Utah Utes, who I refuse to believe still cannot win the National Championship.

Anyway, this game is a matchup of two outstanding rushing attacks with two defenses that rank inside the top 60 in Rush Success. For the Utes, their offense is putting up 35.3 points per game, 6.3 yards per play, and they are ranked 17th in points per play. Defensively, they have not lived up to their full potential as they are prone to explosive runs, and they have gotten torched against Florida (sort of), UCLA, and USC, which just so happen to be the three-best offenses they have faced.

Now, Washington State's offense does not necessarily scare me, but Incarnate Word transfer quarterback Cameron Ward has been exactly what the Cougars have asked for, as he is picking up 7.1 yards per pass and has 16 passing touchdowns through seven games.

What a play by Cameron Ward 😱🔥pic.twitter.com/HQ7XeUNqSL
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 24, 2022

The problem is that he has eight interceptions, which is not that awful of a thing for a guy who ran the Wing-T in high school and is seeing his first bit of big-time football, and although he can scoot, his offensive line is getting him killed as he has been sacked 11 times over the last two games, and they are ranked 84th in Pass Blocking.

Like I said earlier, Utah has struggled against really good offenses, and although I love Ward and what he brings to the table for Washington State, I would not consider the Cougars a good offense. Luckily, Utah is ranked 121st in Pass Rush, allowing 8.0 yards per pass. Unluckily for the Utes, Washington State is 53rd in Rush Success, 57th in Line Yards, and 54th in Finishing Drives, all of which are ranked higher than Utah's defense in the same stat.

I like Washington State to cover if you can find the number over a touchdown at this point, considering they have covered in seven of their last eight home games and 12 of their last 17 overall, but we have two run-heavy teams and two defenses that are very hard to move around. This is the perfect recipe for a late-night Under.

Pick: Under 56.5

Photo Credit: Embed from Getty Images