The No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs will host the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on Saturday. Here is the game preview, odds, TV channel, live stream and pick.
Week 3 of the 2018 college football season will be in full effect on Saturday. One game of note going on down south will be between the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (1-0) and the No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-0).
Kickoff from Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi will be at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT. ESPN2 will have the national telecast. The available live stream for this game can be found on WatchESPN.
Louisiana enters play at 1-0 on the year. The Ragin’ Cajuns are coming off a rout at home in Lafayette versus the Grambling State Tigers, 49-17. While the Ragin’ Cajuns could be a contender in the Sun Belt Conference, they could be in for a rough one in Starkville versus Mississippi State.
Mississippi State enters play at 2-0 on the year. The Bulldogs are the No. 16 team in the nation. They have wins over the FCS Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and a great Power 5 win in the non-conference over the Kansas State Wildcats on the road last week in Manhattan. Though the SEC West is loaded, Mississippi State looks to be more than a handful in arguably the best division in the Power 5.
TV Schedule
Date: Saturday, Sep. 15
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT
Location: Starkville, Mississippi
Venue: Davis Wade Stadium
TV Info: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
According to OddsShark, the Bulldogs will be laying a whopping 33 points at home to the visiting Ragin’ Cajuns. The associated moneylines for this game are Mississippi State -18,500 and Louisiana +7,000. This game’s over/under comes in at a combined 63.5 points.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Mississippi State -33
Moneylines: Mississippi State -18,500, Louisiana +7,000
Over/Under: 63.5
With Mississippi State blowing Kansas State on the road last week, it only makes sense that Joe Moorhead’s team would be laying multiple touchdowns at home to the visiting Ragin’ Cajuns. Anything other than a convincing victory of Louisiana would not be a good look for the Bulldogs.
Last week versus Kansas State, we saw Moorhead get creative with this play calling. He not only had his starting quarterback back in Nick Fitzgerald, but got a career game out of tailback Kylin Hill. Combine those two with the ferocious defensive line and Mississippi State will win some games in SEC play.
The bigger question is how many SEC wins will Mississippi State have? Interestingly enough, the Bulldogs only finished above .500 in SEC play once during previous head coach Dan Mullen’s tenure in Starkville. That would be the unforgettable 2014 campaign that saw Mississippi State be the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in the first College Football Playoff rankings.
Expect Mississippi State to win easily over Louisiana. They will cover, but only barely. Laying 33 points at home with a new head coach seems a bit risky, but the Bulldogs will pull it off. What they won’t do is push this game’s points on the side of the over. Mississippi State covers, but this one goes under. Look for the Bulldogs to crack the top-15 this time next week.
Prediction: Mississippi State 42, Louisiana 7