No. 3 LSU Tigers (-3) at No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs, Total 48.5 |
LSU dropped a spot in the AP Top 25 poll due to paying a non-FBS opponent last week and Alabama crushing Penn State on the road. The Tigers tallied a 49-3 non-conference win over Northwestern State, but failed to cover the 49-point spread.
The team is now set to play only its second non-Holiday Thursday night game in school history this week, as the first came against the Same opponent in 2007, as LSU opned the season with a 45-0 victory over Mississippi State in Starksville.
SEC insiders will be focusing in on the trenches, as the Tigers top-ranked rushing defense will be going against a Bulldogs rushing attack that paces the conference in averaging 321 rushing yards.
Winning in September has become common place for the Bayou Bengals, as they will put their 19-game winning streak on the line during games played during the month. The program has also won 11 straight in this particular series.
college football betting players will find that the Tigers are 21-15 ATS as a road favorite and the ‘over’ is 18-15 in those contests.
Mississippi State failed in its attempt to enter this game with a perfect 2-0 record, dropping a 41-34 loss to Auburn as a 5.5-point road favorite. The Bulldogs will be playing their first home game of the season, as they picked up a 59-14 win over Memphis to open the 2011 campaign.
“We have good balance,” stated Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen. “Our offensive line does a good job of creating seams and gaps, and then we have good balance.”
Senior quarterback Chris Relf has been a work horse on the ground, carrying the ball a team-high 40 times for 157 yards. He also has a weapon in the backfield with fellow senior running back Vick Ballard, who leads the team with 301 rushing yards.
Scoring hasn’t been a problem for this team recently, putting up at least 30 points in each of its last five games, and 12 times in 27 contests under Mullen’s direction.
Defensively, the unit has been very aggressive against opposing offenses, averaging 8.5 tackles per loss a game. That mark currently ranks 17th in the country, while the defense has also caused four turnovers in two games.
The team should come in with plenty of confidence knowing that it finished last year’s meeting with a 268-264 yardage advantage, but threw five interceptions.
Mississippi State is 0-2 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less and 6-8 ATS when getting points in any situation the last two-plus seasons
