New Mexico State vs Jacksonville State prediction & betting tips - October 9 | College Football Week 7

The New Mexico State Aggies go on the road to play Jacksonville State on Wednesday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ESPN2.

New Mexico State is 1-4 (0-2 CUSA) and has lost four straight games. The Aggies are coming off a 50-40 home loss to New Mexico. Jacksonville State (2-3, 1-0) has two straight wins and is coming off a 63-24 victory over Kennesaw State.

New Mexico State vs Jacksonville State: Preview

New Mexico State has struggled this season. Running back Seth McGowan has led New Mexico State, rushing for 334 yards and two touchdowns on 58 carries.

Quarterback Santino Marucci went 13-for-29 for 189 yards and a touchdown last week. Marucci has been in a QB battle with the struggling Parker Awad while Deuce Hogan is out for the year. New Mexico State coach Tony Sanchez says Marucci is the team's starting quarterback.

“Santino started an entire game, played the whole game, did some good things, it was nice to see him make some throws at the end. We want to see that gradual improvement," Sanchez said, via KTSM.com... "Coach [Tyler] Wright needs to do a good job of getting him mentally ready and we got to make sure we get him a menu that he [Marucci] can execute.”

On defense, New Mexico State is led by safety Josiah Cox who has two interceptions, pass rusher Buddha Peleti who has 2.5 sacks, and linebacker Tyler Martinez who has 36 tackles.

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks are led by quarterback Tyler Huff who's 78-for-116 for 1,073 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions.

In Jacksonville State's last win, Huff rushed for three touchdowns which impressed coach Rich Rodriguez.

“I thought Tyler Huff was fantastic,” Rodriguez said, via Calhoun Journal. "That guy is a warrior."

Rodriguez was also impressed by the offense's calmness after some key mistakes.

“We made some critical errors in the second quarter that allowed them to come back into the game and got their fans into it, but there was no panic at halftime,” Rodriquez said after the game. “We just had to relax a little bit.

“I thought the key was coming out in the second half and getting some drives again. I just noticed we had 31 first downs, and when you get 31 first downs, you’re usually controlling the tempo.”

On defense, Jacksonville State is led by Zechariah Poyser who has three interceptions, J-Rock Swain has 2.5 sacks, and Antonio Carter II has 49 tackles.

Ultimately, Jacksonville State's offense seems like the real deal and Tyler Huff should be able to succeed against New Mexico State's defense in this one.

Prediction: Jacksonville State 37, New Mexico State 13

New Mexico State vs Jacksonville State: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Jacksonville State -21 (-112)

Tip 2: Under 57.5 (-110)

Tip 3: Tyler Huff anytime TD scorer