Florida International vs. UTEP Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for College Football Week 8

Reed Wallach | Oct 14, 2024

Aug 31, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Florida International Panthers quarterback Keyone Jenkins (1) throws a pass during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Florida International nearly scored one of the biggest upsets of the season at Liberty, ultimately losing in overtime to the reigning Conference USA Champions. 

Can FIU bounce back and take care of a winless UTEP team that is searching for quarterback answers, possibly going back to the once benched Skylar Locklear? 

The Panthers hit the road, but are viewed as the favorites, can the team take care of business? 

Here's our betting preview. 

Florida International vs. UTEP Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Florida International: -5.5 (-110)
• UTEP: +5.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Florida international: -200
• UTEP: +164

Total: 49.5 (Over -108/Under -112)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Florida International vs. UTEP How to Watch

• Date: Wednesday, October 16
• Game Time: 9:00 PM EST
• Venue: Sun Bowl
• How to Watch (TV): CBS Sports Network
• Florida International Record: 2-4
• UTEP Record: 0-6

Florida International vs. UTEP Key Players to Watch

Florida International

Keyone Jenkins: The full time starter, Jenkins has been more than capable of handling Conference USA competition, nearly leading the Panthers to a win against the Flames last week. He completed 65% of his passes and had a rushing touchdown last week. Overall, he is completing 63% of his passes with 11 total touchdowns. Outside of three interceptions against Florida Atlantic, the FIU signal caller has two interceptions in five games. 

UTEP

Skyler Locklear: Locklear joined head coach Scotty Walden from Austin Peay, and was named the Week 1 starter, but was benched early in the year due to ineffective play. However, he re-entered the field last week as backup Cade McConnell got hurt against Western Kentucky, leaving the QB1 duties up for debate at the time of this writing. This season, the UTEP offense ranks 113th in EPA/Play. Locklear has a 3-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Florida International vs. UTEP Prediction and Pick

FIU has been much improved this season as Jenkins has done a good job of navigating this offense while the defense has been sturdy, especially in pass coverage. 

For starters, no matter who is at QB for the Miners, the team will pass a ton, ranking 33rd in pass play percentage (53.75%). Given that the team has been in a negative game script often, the team has been forced to pass, but the preference for Walden is for his offense to take to the air. 

FIU ranks 28th in EPA/Pass this season, per GameonPaper, so I don’t expect the UTEP offense to find many answers this way. 

Meanwhile, with Jenkins and a big play run game that is top 15 in the country in explosive rush percentage, I believe the Panthers can out-pace this UTEP defense with relative ease. 

This season, UTEP checks in 114th in EPA/PLay and is incredibly reliant on an aggressive defense that has tallied 15 sacks on the year (29th in the country). However, FIU’s offensive line has been sturdy this season, only allowing 10 sacks on the year and has a mobile quarterback in Jenkins that can spring big plays through the air or on the ground. 

I’ll lay it with the road favorite on Wednesday night. 

PICK: Florida International -5.5

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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