CFB Preview: LSU Tigers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs
Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)
When: 9:15 PM ET, Saturday, September 12, 2015
Where: Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Televised: ESPN
Where: Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Televised: ESPN
Odds: The line opened with LSU as 2.5 point favorites and it has been bet up to -5 in some spots. The OU line opened at 48 and has been bet up to 50.
The LSU Tigers had a mediocre 2014, in which they went just 8-5 and had their season end with a 31-28 loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl. This year's team looks to be much improved with 15 starters back and should battle Alabama for the top spot in the West, This team is deep and very talented and will be a factor this year. The offense has 9 starters back from last and should put up more than the 27.6 ppg they averaged a year ago. Defensively they allowed just 17.5 ppg last year and wit 6 starers and a solid crop of incoming frosh I see this defense being just as stingy. I fully expect the Tigers to reach double digits in win this year, but winning the west may be tough as they do have to travel to Alabama in November. Still watch out for this team.
Mississippi State opened their Season with a 34-16 road win over Southern Miss. It was not a dominant performance as they outgained the Golden Eagles by just 29 yards in the game. That has to be a bit disappointing for the Bulldogs as Southern Miss has gone just 4-32 the last 3 years. Mississippi State went 10-3 last year and at 1 point they were ranked 1st in the nation, but they lost 3 of their last 4 games, including losing the Orange Bowl to Georgia Tech. This is a team that will struggle this year as they have just 7 starers back from that team and are rated as the 93rd most experienced team in the nation. The do have Dak Prescott back at QB, who is rated as the best QB in the SEC and he does have their top 2 WRs back, but they did lose top RB Josh Robinson, who ran for 1209 yards and 11 TDs and their OL is a mess as it rates 12th in the SEC. The Defense does bring back 5 of their top 7 tacklers from last year, but on 3 starters return to this group. They will be weaker on that side of the ball this year. This team could go from being #1 in the nation at one point last year to the bottom of the SEC West this year.
Looking to have a very good year in CFB-- Get All My College Football Premium Picks Here
Free College Football Pick
[306] LSU -5 over Mississippi State
I like the Tigers here. They are the far more experienced team and they are clearly stronger on both sides of the ball, plus they have revenge on their minds from last years 5 point home loss to the Bulldogs. The Tigers also have the added advantage here of having this game as their first game of the year. They have had all summer to think about this game, while Mississippi State had to prepare for Southern Miss and then the Tigers. LSU does have Auburn on deck, but this is their Conference opener so they should be fully focused for it, plus they are 4-1 ATS the last 5 in this series. It all adds up to the Tigers winning by at least a TD in this one.
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