The LSU Tigers will finally get a chance to make a statement on Saturday when they open their season against the Mississippi State Bulldogs following the cancelation of their Week 1 showdown with McNeese State.
In general, LSU has plenty of stars on both sides of the ball, but as always, this season—and this game—will come down to the quarterback position.
ODDS
The spread opened with the Tigers modest favorites over the Bulldogs, but has since opened up a bit from -2 to -4.5 in favor of the visiting purple and gold.
Likewise, the total has jumped as well from 48 to 49.5 as bettors side with LSU and the over taking money early on.
Mississippi State’s defense struggled in its opener, leading to the bump in total and LSU’s continual rise according to the spread.
The Bulldogs got the SU win in their season opener, but dropped the game ATS, it was their sixth loss ATS in their last eight games. Mississippi State is returning home, however, where it’s 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games. Of course, LSU is the better team and has done well in September with a 3-1-1 ATS mark in its last five September games.
KEY MISMATCH
Watching the Mississippi State defense try and hold down LSU will be interesting.
The Bulldogs allowed 413 total yards to Southern Mississippi in their opener, including 311 yards passing.
Of course, the passing game isn’t the strength of the Tigers, instead it’s the ground game headed by Heisman hopeful Leonard Fournette. Still, the team does have a number of very good receivers in Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural who will give Brandon Harris enough weapons to take advantage of the apparently porous pass defense of the Bulldogs.
KEY STAT
.571 – This is the third down conversion rate for Mississippi State in last week’s season opener as it converted eight of 14 chances. Of course, a big part of that was a very impressive 7.3 yards per carry average between quarterback Dak Prescott and a collection of six other runners including Brandon Holloway, who was second to Prescott in yards with 51.
In general, Mississippi State was very efficient, scoring 34 points and doubling up their opponents, despite having the ball for just 22:15.
BETTING ANGLE
With LSU’s opener being washed away due to weather, the Tigers could be at a bit of a disadvantage, not having the opportunity to kick off a bit of rust against a lesser team like McNeese State.
Instead, the Tigers will have to go all out against the Bulldogs in Mississippi after they’ve already gotten warmed up against Southern Mississippi.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Bulldogs struggled to stop the pass in Week 1, but they did hold the Golden Eagles to just 2.8 yards per carry on the ground. Mississippi State’s rush defense will get a bigger test on Saturday against Fournette who may be one of the best offensive players in nation.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers have a number of good players with Tre’Davious White and Kendell Beckwith amongst them. The defense, however, will be tested by a Dak Prescott led offense. Prescott has a number of weapons, but is himself a multifaceted player.
This should be a fun show as Prescott and Fournette make some noise, but Mississippi State’s defense has me scared, so I’m going with the Tigers in this one.
Louisiana State 26, Mississippi State 20
BookMaker sent out the college football spread for this game at LSU -2 with a total of 48. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, total and spread. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
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