ReliaQuest Bowl Betting Odds: Emotions Will Be High for Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State Hits the Field Following The Death of Head Coach Mike Leach
Illinois Looks to Wrap Up Breakthrough Season with First Bowl Win Since 2011
There will be a different vibe in the NCAAF matchup between Mississippi State and Illinois after the death of Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett will serve as the interim head coach for the bowl game. While the emotions will be on the side of the Bulldogs, the ReliaQuest Bowl betting odds favor Illinois.
Illinois is in its first bowl game since 2019 and is looking for the program’s first bowl victory since 2011 when the Fighting Illini topped UCLA 20-14 in the Fight Hunger Bowl.
Mississippi State has dropped three of its last four bowl games with the lone win coming when the Bulldogs edged Tulsa 28-26 in the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl.
Mississippi State did see some contributors land in the transfer portal. Receiver Rara Thomas (44 catches), second-leading rusher Dillon Johnson and three other running backs all ended up in the portal. There are questions about whether safety Collin Duncan will play in the bowl game after declaring for the NFL draft. Fellow defensive backs Emmanuel Forbes and Jackie Matthews said they will play in the bowl game even after announcing that they are turning pro.
Illinois’ all-conference defensive backs Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown opted out of the bowl game after declaring for the draft. Witherspoon is showing up on mock drafts as a potential first-round pick.
It remains to be seen if Chase Brown, the second-leading rusher in the country, will play in the bowl game.
Game Information
Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4) vs Illinois Fighting Illini (8-4)
Date & Time & Streaming:
Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Streaming: Live Stream Sports
Contrasting Styles Ready to Clash in ReliaQuest Bowl
Mississippi State’s “Air Raid” offense should still be in good hands.
Quarterback Will Rogers leads the nation with 566 passing attempts. He has completed 68% of his passes for 3,713 yards with 34 touchdown passes and six interceptions. His presence is one of the reasons why the ReliaQuest Bowl betting odds could see the Bulldogs listed as the favorite by the time of the opening kickoff.
Eleven different Mississippi State players have at least 10 catches so even with some pass catchers not playing in the bowl, there will be options for Rogers to throw to.
Illinois has the best defensive passer rating among FBS teams with eight TD passes and 22 interceptions.
Defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton (57 tackles, 13 tackles for loss), linebackers Seth Coleman (42 tackles, 4.5 sacks), Gabe Jacas (31 tackles, four sacks), and Calvin Hart Jr., defensive back Jartavius Martin (59 tackles, three interceptions) and receiver Pat Bryant (34 catches) are among the Florida natives on the Illinois roster.
Running back Simeon Price (12 catches) is the most productive of the Sunshine State products on the Mississippi State team.
They Also Play Defense in Starkville
There is a reason why the administration promoted Arnett to head coach at the age of 36. He arrived at Mississippi State in 2020. He took a defense that was ranked 11th in the SEC with nearly 400 yards allowed and helped the Bulldogs finish fifth in the conference in total defense in each of the last three seasons. That is playing a role in how the Mississippi State vs Illinois odds are shaking out.
Forbes leads the way with six interceptions while Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson both have more than 100 tackles with Watson adding 11 tackles for loss.
Mississippi State had 16 takeaways in the eight wins and five in the four losses and that will be crucial in the bowl game.
Questions Abound Around Brown
Keep an eye on the line movement once Brown’s intentions are known regarding the bowl game and that will impact the ReliaQuest Bowl betting odds.
Brown began the season with nine straight 100-yard rushing games. Things slowed down a bit later in the season with Brown being held under 100 yards in a loss to Purdue and a win over Northwestern.
Not only did Brown lead Illinois with 1,643 rushing yards, but the next closest rusher for the Fighting Illini is Reggie Love III and he had just 277 yards in the 12 regular-season games. Brown also had 27 catches.
Illinois’ passing offense does have some similarities to Mississippi State’s in that it places a priority on high-percentage passes as the Fighting Illini average less than 10 yards per reception.
How Will Leach’s Passing Impact Mississippi State?
It is hard to know what the frame of mind of the Mississippi State players will be following the death of Leach.
The Bulldogs and Fighting Illini are a combined 12-9-1 against the spread and that includes a 6-4 mark away from home.
All five of Mississippi State’s road games finished under the total.
Total opened at 44.5 and has moved to 46. The game opened as a Pick’em and at various times both teams have been slight favorites.
The total opened at 44.5 and has moved to 46. The game opened as a Pick’em and at various times both teams have been slight favorites. There are some decisions surrounding some key college football players and whether they will play in the game that could result in more line movements.
When looking at the NCAAF schedules, Illinois is playing a team from the SEC for the first time since 2002. Mississippi State has lost its last two games against Big Ten opponents.
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