LSU vs Mississippi State Preview: No. 14 Tigers in Dire Need of Win

LSU didn’t quite have a week off after its opening-game loss to Florida State. But they did have the next best thing with a game against Grambling. LSU came away with a 72-10 victory. But it didn’t impress the voters, as LSU remained No. 14 in the AP poll. It apparently did impress bettors, though. LSU moved from -8 to -10 and the total on the game dropped a point to 53.5. The LSU vs Mississippi State preview notes the Bulldogs defeated Arizona 31-24 in overtime, failing to cover the spread in the process.

Tigers Can’t Afford Another Loss

After being thumped by Florida State in the opener, the Tigers came back and did what they needed against Grambling. The LSU defense was a little sketchy at first, allowing Grambling to have two 80-yard drives, but settled down after that. Jayden Daniels threw for five touchdowns and the Tigers were able to get in several other quarterbacks to get experience.

If there’s a problem spot for LSU, it would have to be the defense. The Tigers allowed 494 yards to FSU and 320 to Grambling. But LSU can be forgiven a bit for the poor start against Grambling in what was a natural letdown situation. The Tigers did bounce back enough to cover the 56.5-point spread to move to 1-1 ATS on the season, with both games going over the total.

Bulldogs Moving Up in Class

The LSU vs Mississippi State preview notes the Bulldogs haven’t looked bad. But Mississippi State hasn’t really played anybody, either. Southeastern Louisiana is an FCS team and Arizona is one of the weaker teams in the Pac-12 Conference. The Bulldogs do have two wins to show for having one of the softer NCAAF schedules in the early going among SEC teams. Mississippi State is 1-1 against the spread and 0-2 in totals, sneaking under the total in both games.

But LSU is going to pose a much tougher test on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs haven’t seen a quarterback anywhere the caliber of Daniels through their two games. The LSU defense is also going to attack much faster than what the Bulldogs have seen in the early stages of this season.

What to Expect

The LSU Tigers came into the season with the plans of riding Daniels as much as possible. There’s no reason to stop that now. He didn’t have his best game against Florida State, but still accounted for more than 400 total yards. The Tigers would like to be able to run the ball and were fair against FSU, but the score of the game dictated more passing. LSU ran well against Grambling, but they shouldn’t have problems against FCS teams.

Mississippi State outgained SE Louisiana 525-208, which is to be expected. Arizona had a 431-307 yardage advantage against the Bulldogs, which wasn’t expected. The Wildcats have five turnovers in the game and if not for those, Arizona would have won the game. As it was, the Bulldogs still needed overtime to get the win. The college football odds had Mississippi State -8.5 and the final was 31-24. That doesn’t bode well for Mississippi State going up against one of the better teams in the country. The Bulldogs haven’t thrown for a lot of yards this season, but might have Will Rogers throwing more than normal. It’s going to be tough for the Bulldogs to get the ground game working against LSU.

Who to Bet On?

The LSU vs Mississippi State preview has to bring up the fact that LSU climbed to a 10-point road favorite in this game. That’s a fairly big move, not only in terms of points, but also because it’s climbed to a fairly key number of 10. The total dropping might be a bit of a surprise, looking at LSU’s NCAA football scores, but the Tiger defense can play better than they’ve shown.

The Bulldogs are going to be a bit overrated based on their 2-0 record, especially among those who don’t delve into the Arizona stats a little more. Mississippi State wasn’t the best team on the field in the game, but there could have been a little look-ahead to this game.

It’s never easy taking the under with a quarterback like Daniels on the field, but that’s where the value is in the game. Find your best bet for the week on all NCAAF games, right here.

For college football betting news, odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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