FSU opens as betting underdog in road contest against SMU Mustangs

FSU football earned its first win of the 2024 season with a 14-9 victory over the visiting California Bears. It was the first ACC game for the Bears and their first loss overall. The Noles finally covered the betting spread -3 for the first time all season as betting favorites.

The Noles will have their first true road game on Saturday night when they travel to take on the SMU Mustangs. It will be the first ACC game for the Mustangs, who had a big win over rival TCU last week. It'll be the first time the Noles will be betting underdogs, as the betting line opened at +4.5 on Draftkings.

The line has some home-field advantage built in, but it's not like SMU has a stadium with a huge capacity. It'll be a sold-out crowd, but FSU will have a strong presence as many fans purchased seats before the season started. SMU had struggled on offense, much like FSU, and changed their starting quarterback before the TCU game.

However, over half of their 66 points scored against the Horned Frogs were from defensive or special teams play. They had a punt return, fumble return, and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. However, their new starting quarterback is much more of a running threat than the original starter. I mention that because FSU has struggled much more against mobile quarterbacks.

The good news is SMU's defense isn't elite by any means. FSU showed some signs of life early against a solid California defense. Can they gain confidence on that success and their first win of the season? It'll be interesting to see where this line ends up.