ESPN College Football Picks - Louisiana Tech at Nevada

The Western Athletic Conference takes the national spotlight Friday Night from Reno, Nevada as the Nevada Wolfpack host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs with kickoff set for 9:00pm EST. The odds opened with Nevada as 10.5-point college football pick at online sportsbooks but Vegas odds at the Hilton have Nevada -11. Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault is in his third tour of duty with the Nevada Wolfpack and 25th overall season at the helm in Reno. Ault came back for his third stint as coach in 2004 and has produced four consecutive bowl seasons.

Nevada was considered to be loaded this year with 7 starters returning on each side of the line including junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick. With that in mind it was a disappointment that the Wolfpack stumbled out of the gate with a record of 0-3 both straight up and against the college football odds. To be fair, the three losses were at Notre Dame, at Colorado State and at home against Missouri which was a tough schedule to start the season with. Last week in their annual intra-state matchup with UNLV the Wolfpack exploded for a 63-28 win for any easy payout as the college football pick at 6.5-point home favorites. Nevada has been a lethal commodity as a college football pick when playing as a home favorite with a mark of 18-7 against the spread since 2002.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs also had high expectations for this college football betting season as they were an 8-5 bowl team last year with 9 starters on offense and 7 starters on defense returning for 2009. The Bulldogs are 2-2 both straight up and against the spread and are coming off a win in their WAC opener against Hawaii 27-6 as 6 point home favorites. Tech has been an abysmal road dog in recent seasons with a mark of 13-30-1 against the college football odds since 2000. Nevada has a significant advantage in this match-up with their powerful ground attack that is ranked 4th in the nation going up against the porous Louisiana Tech run defense that is ranked 105th in the nation. Nevada’s trio of Kaepernick, Luke Lippincott and Vai Taua each have over 200 yards rushing and are each averaging over 6 yards per carry. Nevada seemed to jump start their season last week but cannot let up against a veteran Bulldog team with bowl aspirations.

Fernandez's College Football Picks: Although I really don't like to bet on Vegas teams for obvious reasons, I really can't turn down a winner either. My college football pick for Friday's ESPN college football game will be to take the Wolfpack laying the points at home to the UNDER. Vegas odds at the MGM Mirage sportsbook have Nevada -10.5 favorites in week 6 college football betting odds against Louisiana Tech with a total of 58.