Free Pick | NCAA | Saturday | Sep. 19

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#145 UTEP +36 over Michigan 2:30 PM CT

Michigan has made headlines in back-to-back weeks, last week doing so with a nice win over Oklahoma to restore the credentials of the program. A significant Big Ten opener with Iowa is on deck as this is likely to be a bit of a flat spot on the schedule. UTEP ironically played Oklahoma in Week 1, losing 51-0 in comparison before the Miners scored 51 points last week vs. FCS Texas Southern to find the win column. Wins may be tough to come by moving forwards the Miners transition to the MWC. A number over five touchdowns is an enormous ask for any team sandwiched between two marquee opponents, and history is littered with new coaching staffs failing to sustain the same urgency against a team they’re expected to beat by 30-plus. UTEP, for its part, at least showed the ability to move the ball once the level of competition dropped, hanging 51 on Texas Southern to snap its skid, and while the roster gap remains enormous, garbage-time execution and backup snaps late in a laugher are exactly the difference between covering a number like this and getting steamrolled. With Michigan almost certainly looking past this game toward Iowa and UTEP unlikely to fold completely the way it did against a preseason top-10 Oklahoma team in Week 1, the Miners getting more than five touchdowns looks like a number worth grabbing rather than fading.