The Auburn Tigers opened as a 3.5-point home favorite over Mississippi State and the Tigers are now a 2.5-point favorite at BookMaker, where live betting offers alternative wagering on the adjusted spread, total and money line.
The total in this SEC West elimination game is 56.
WHEN MISSISSIPPI STATE HAS THE BALL
Star senior quarterback Dak Prescott only played part of last week’s game completing 10-of-11 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The week before he had to pass often with little running game success, but he passed for over 350 yards on 52 attempts against a strong LSU defense in defeat, 21-19. Prescott is a dangerous dual threat who has rushed for at least 120 yards in each of his last two games against Auburn.
The Bulldogs game plan should be more balanced, but Prescott should still have a big passing game against the Tigers’ troubled defense. Last season, Mississippi State both rushed and passed for over 220 yards against Auburn in a battle of top-3 teams, and the Bulldogs beat the Tigers 38-23. Now both teams have fallen out of the top-25, and with each team 2-1, this becomes an elimination game in the SEC West and Mississippi State has a big edge at quarterback.
Auburn’s defense is more deficient this season, and the Tigers have now allowed at least 400 yards offense to each of its last nine FBS opponents. Add in the loss of impact defensive end Carl Lawson for an extended period of time with a hip injury and the Bulldogs should have plenty of success on offense.
This has the makings of another higher-scoring contest if Auburn can get production from its new quarterback, but I would look to bet alternative spreads and money line bets on the Bulldogs when live betting and even more if they trail early, as Mississippi State should move the ball and score plenty.
WHEN AUBURN HAS THE BALL
A shakeup has been made in the Plains as coach Gus Malzahn announced Tuesday that redshirt freshman Sean White is the new starting quarterback replacing Jeremy Johnson. He’ll be taking his first collegiate snaps and you can expect Mississippi State to load the box and bring pressure while focusing on containing the dynamic Auburn running attack led by Peyton Barber.
Since Auburn has scored just one touchdown in the first half of their first three games, it’s tough to imagine they will have initial early success with a new untested quarterback. The Tigers will surely focus on getting their ground game going, and they should have some level of success against a sub-par Bulldogs defense. Coach Malzahn is not going to ask his new quarterback to be a difference maker and he’ll try to avoid falling behind at all costs.
Auburn had just 260 yards of offense at LSU in their 45-21 loss last week. That included 100 passing as Jeremy Johnson continued to struggle with reads and turnovers. Auburn will go heavy on the ground game as long as the Tigers can sustain it, but if they do fall behind by 10 points or more, it will likely be too tough for this quarterback to bring them back and offset the expected success of Prescott.
BETTING TRENDS AND MATCHUPS
Auburn is 0-8 ATS in its last eight games, while Mississippi State is 7-0 ATS in its last seven in the underdog role.
The Tigers have allowed over 800 rushing yards to rank No. 123 nationally. In their common opponent games against LSU, Mississippi State fared much better in defeat and Prescott has much more experience and ability to make plays running or passing in this matchup.
It’s a tough task for an inexperienced freshman quarterback to be thrown into the fire in SEC action, and betting Mississippi State early and often on the live betting platform including on the adjusted spreads before kickoffs may prove most profitable when the Bulldogs pull out this crucial road win.
The college football odds for this game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Auburn Tigers were pegged as 3.5-point chalk with a total of 56. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers will start at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
