Big matchup coming on Saturday from Starkville, Mississippi. The LSU Tigers go on the road to open SEC play against Mississippi State for the second-straight year. This time around there are two different quarterbacks under center with Max Johnson and Will Rogers. We compared the two passers in our ‘Tale of the Tape’.
Neither team has much of a running game as they are ranked No. 13 and No. 14 in the SEC. LSU is ranked No. 120 in the country, while the Bulldogs have the worst rushing offense in the country at No. 130. Can either team get the run game going to help out the offense? Odds are that it would be LSU that would likely be the one to do it.
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Currently, the LSU Tigers are favored in this game by 2.5 according to Tipico Sportsbook. We check in with the experts for this one, who wins on Saturday?
Kerry Miller, Bleacher Report
Who’s ready for a repeat of that stunning start to SEC play last fall? Neither of these teams runs the ball well and both defenses have done well to defend the run, so it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if Max Johnson and Will Rogers combine for something like 110 pass attempts in this one. And if it plays out that way, I like Mississippi State at home in a four-hour barn-burner. – Miller
Mississippi State 45, LSU 42
Pete Fiutak, College Football News
Everyone’s going to be into the offensive side, but the defenses are going to be the difference.
Neither one will be dominant – both passing games will work – but Mississippi State will do a better job of controlling the ball and the tempo, and the defensive side will take over when it needs to.
Neither team will run well, and at home, Mississippi State’s short-range passing attack will be a bit more effective. – Fiutak
Mississippi State 26, LSU 24
CFN Expert Picks:
Mississippi State votes- 5
LSU votes- 10
Consensus: LSU wins
CBS Sports Simulations
LSU hasn’t been tested since its Week 1 loss to UCLA, but the model sees the Tigers as the more balanced team in this matchup. The simulations show Mike Leach’s squad barely cracking 50 yards of rushing, while LSU goes for over 100 on the ground. With both teams easily topping 300 yards of passing, that’s a big difference in the sides. LSU takes this one by seven points in the simulations, covering almost 60 percent of the time. – CBS Sports on how LSU wins