Teams looking for their first win of the season battle when the Northwestern State Demons take on the South Alabama Jaguars in a non-conference matchup on Thursday night. Northwestern State is coming off a 37-31 loss to Prairie View A&M, while South Alabama fell 27-20 at Ohio. The Demons (0-2), who were 0-11 last season, including 0-7 in the Southland Conference, are looking for their first win since 2022. The Jaguars (0-2), who were 7-6 overall and 4-4 in the Sun Belt Conference in 2023, are 5-3 at home since the start of last season.

Kickoff from Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala., is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. This will be the first-ever meeting between the programs. The Jaguars are 36.5-point favorites in the latest Northwestern State vs. South Alabama odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over-under for total points scored is 60.5.

Before making any Northwestern State vs. South Alabama picks or college football predictions, you NEED to hear what football expert Emory Hunt has to say.

Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007, and a former running back for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. He knows the game from a player's perspective.

In addition, Hunt was 93-78-5 (+777) on his college football picks last year and is off to an 8-2 start (+570) on this year! Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, Hunt has analyzed Northwestern State vs. South Alabama from every angle and just locked in his picks and predictions.

Hunt knows that redshirt freshman Gio Lopez, who has shared duties with sophomore Bishop Davenport, leads the Jaguars in passing through the first two games. He has completed 26 of 49 attempts (53.1%) for 432 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to North Texas on Aug. 31. He has also carried 13 times for 62 yards (4.8 average) and one touchdown. In limited action last season, Lopez completed 41 of 61 passes (67.2%) for 475 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. 

The expert also has taken into account that junior running back Kennieth Lacy is off to a solid start to his season for the Demons. In two games, he has carried 16 times for 147 yards (9.2 average) and two touchdowns. Against Prairie View A&M, he carried nine times for 75 yards (8.3 average) and a score. After limited action last season due to several forfeit losses, Lacy is looking to recapture his form from 2022. That season, he carried 95 times for 435 yards (4.6 average) and scored four touchdowns.

Now, Hunt has locked in a confident against-the-spread pick for Northwestern State vs. South Alabama. We can tell you he's leaning Over on the total, but he knows a crucial X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what it is before locking in any picks of your own.

Who wins Northwestern State vs. South Alabama on Thursday? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Northwestern State vs. South Alabama spread to jump on, all from the football expert who is off to an 8-2 start on his college football picks this year!