FCS Picks/Sunday Games

Week 1 of the FCS schedule wraps up this afternoon with a pair of games, including the Orange Blossom Football Classic between Deion Sanders’ Jackson State Tigers and the Florida A&M Rattlers. Game time is 3:00 pm ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Sanders took over as head coach of the Tigers in September 2020 and immediately turned the program into one of the most-watched in the FCS as Jackson State appeared on ESPN six times during the Spring 2021 season. This year promises to be as entertaining as Coach Prime’s son, Shedeur Sanders, takes over at QB for the Tigers after throwing for 3,702 yards and 43 TDs as a senior at Trinity Christian High School in Cedar Hills, TX.

He’ll be facing a Rattlers team that hasn’t played in over 650 days after missing all of 2020 because of COVID-19. But head coach Willie Simmons had a strong team in 2019 as the Rattlers finished their final season in the MEAC with a 9-2 record overall and 6-1 in conference play.

With both these teams now in the SWAC, today’s game promises to be an intense affair. Dunkel has the Rattlers pulling out the win and covering the 7 ½-point Vegas line with a total under the Vegas line of 59 ½.

Dunkel’s Pick: Florida A&M (-7 ½); Under

Below are all of Dunkel’s picks for Sunday’s FCS schedule:

SEPTEMBER 5

Jackson State vs Florida A&M
Time: 3:00 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Jackson State 42.570; Florida A&M 52.844
Dunkel Line & Total: Florida A&M by 10 ½; 53
Vegas Line & Total: Florida A&M by 7 ½; 59 ½
Dunkel Pick: Florida A&M (-7 ½); Under

Grambling vs Tennessee State
Time: 4:00 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Grambling 33.308; Tennessee State 45.562
Dunkel Line & Total: Tennessee State by 12; 43
Vegas Line & Total: Tennessee State by 6 ½; 52 ½
Dunkel Pick: Tennessee State (-6 ½); Under