UCLA Bruins vs LSU Tigers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 09/21/24

The UCLA Bruins will travel Saturday afternoon to take on the LSU Tigers. UCLA is coming off an embarrassing Big Ten debut loss in Indiana last week. They lost 42-13 after surrendering 430 yards of total offense to the Hoosiers. UCLA’s schedule doesn’t get easier as they take on the 16th ranked LSU Tigers. LSU defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road 36-33 after South Carolina missed a potential game-tying, 49-yard field goal. While LSU is a highly ranked team in the beginning of this 2024 season, it has gotten off to a shaky start. That narrative continued at the beginning of last week’s game when the Tigers found themselves behind 17-0 late in the 2nd quarter. It took a turnaround effort from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and 2 rushing touchdowns from Caden Durham to pull the Tigers back. There hasn’t been a single game yet this season in which the Tigers played their best for 60 minutes. Even their win 2 weeks ago against Nicholls was close at one point. Nicholls scored a touchdown early in the third quarter to bring the score to 23-21. The Tigers will need to find a more balanced effort this week if they expect to cover against UCLA.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly has pleaded with his team to bring their all into these games to open the season. A big part of the Tiger’s offense that Kelly has outlined is the Tiger’s need to convert more downs in third and short scenarios. Through the first three games of the season, the Tigers are hovering right around 50% on plays that are third and 3 or shorter yards. While I do believe LSU has the offensive and talent capabilities to win this game by 30+ points, we just haven’t seen this team perform at a high level for a full 60-minute game. I have UCLA keeping it close enough to cover on Saturday.

UCLA vs LSU prediction: LSU +23.5 available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

You can bet on our UCLA vs LSU pick at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has thousands of betting options available and a great new customer offer where you can get $200 in bonus bets INSTANTLY and 1 month of NFL+ when you make a first bet of just $5! Click here 👈🏼 to sign up for a DraftKings account, and MAKE IT RAIN.