The Arkansas Razorbacks (6-3, 2-3 in SEC) head to “Death Valley” to play the LSU Tigers (4-5, 4-4) at Tiger Stadium Saturday for an SEC showdown. The kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Arkansas vs. LSU odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
Arkansas has won back-to-back games over the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions and Mississippi State Bulldogs following a three-game losing streak to quality conference opponents.
The Razorbacks are 5-4 ATS and 6-3 with the 22nd-toughest strength of schedule, according to USA TODAY’s Jeff Sagarin.
LSU has lost back-to-back games but covered in its latest outing, which was a 20-14 loss at the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide as 29.5-point road underdogs in Week 10. The Tigers are 4-5 ATS and 4-5 O/U with the second-hardest strength of schedule, according to Sagarin.
The Tigers have beaten the Razorbacks in five straight meetings but Arkansas has covered in two of the last three games.
Arkansas at LSU odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 7:15 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Arkansas -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | LSU +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
- Against the spread (ATS): Arkansas -2.5 (-110) | LSU +2.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 59.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Arkansas at LSU odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Arkansas 27, LSU 24
Money line
I’m on ARKANSAS (-135) for 1 unit even though this is traditionally a spot where I’d back LSU (+110). The Tigers are tough to beat in primetime games at “Death Valley”.
But, ultimately, LSU just doesn’t have the bodies to compete in the SEC this season hence it being Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron’s final year on the job. For instance, LSU’s secondary has one four-star and three five-star DBs on its injury report.
More importantly, LSU’s defense is solid on standard downs but terrible on passing downs and the Tigers rank 118th in 3rd-down conversion rate. Plus the advanced analytics paint an even grimmer picture of LSU’s defense in passing situations.
The Tigers rank 114th in defensive passing down success rate, 111th in defensive predicted points added (PPA) on passing downs and 117th in explosive plays allowed on passing downs.
On the other hand, Arkansas ranks 17th in offensive passing down PPA and 16th in opponent’s 3rd-down conversion rate.
The bottom line is this will be the difference-maker in a game that’s priced at a coin-flip. I’ll take the “chalk” road favorite in ARKANSAS (-135).
Against the spread
PASS since the Razorbacks’ money line is just 25 cents on the dollar more expensive than Arkansas -2.5 (-110).
Also, Tiger Stadium is a tough environment to play in and I don’t want to fuss with the points with a road favorite in a conference game. It’s “square” enough paying extra for Arkansas in this spot and I’d hate to lose if the Razorbacks only win by one or two points.
Over/Under
PASS with a slight “lean” to the Under 59.5 (-115) because a vast majority of the market is betting the Over (according to Pregame.com) and my sports betting instinct is to fade lopsided markets. Plus I just kind of have a hunch that Arkansas-LSU is a tight, low-scoring game.
But, my handicap on this contest’s total is fairly shallow so I’ll just stick with Arkansas straight up in this one.
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