The Missouri Tigers (1-0) and Kansas State Wildcats (1-0) will rekindle an old Big 12 rivalry Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan. Kickoff is set for noon ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Missouri vs. Kansas State odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
This will be the 98th meeting between the 2 schools, but the 1st since 2011, which Kansas State won 24-17. Missouri leads the all-time series 59-33-5.
Both squads started the season strong in Week 1, with the Tigers earning a 52-24 win over Louisiana Tech. Quarterback Brady Cook passed for 204 yards and a TD and had a TD run. True-freshman WR Luther Burden — a 5-star prospect — got involved in the short game with 43 yards and 2 TDs on 6 total touches.
The Wildcats pitched a 34-0 shutout over South Dakota State with junior RB Deuce Vaughn dominating the ground game with 126 yards and a score on 18 carries. Fifth-year senior QB Adrian Martinez only threw for 53 yards, but did add 39 yards and a TD on the ground.
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Missouri at Kansas State odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 11:55 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Missouri +250 (bet $100 to win $250) | Kansas State -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Missouri +7.5 (-108) | Kansas State -7.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 56.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Missouri at Kansas State picks and predictions
Prediction
Missouri 30, Kansas State 27
Money line
It’s tempting to take MISSOURI +250 as underdogs with a great return of 2.5 times your investment. Mizzou has a much more aggressive defense than South Dakota State, allowing just 11 yards on the ground against La. Tech last week. K-State will need to air things out against the Tigers to remain competitive, but the question is whether Martinez can keep up with Mizzou’s offense after averaging just 3.5 yards per attempt in Week 1.
Against the spread
If you’re leaning toward a Mizzou win or at least a close game, go ahead and take MISSOURI +7.5 (-108) as the stronger, safer bet. These 2 teams haven’t forgotten their old rivalry and both could use a win as they head into conference play.
Over/Under
This is a tough bet given that neither squad has yet to play against real competition this season. Both offenses ran up the score against inferior opponents, but with these 2 more evenly matched, a tighter game seems more likely.
Last week Missouri turned the ball over twice in the red zone, while Cook missed Burden and others on several deep passes and had more success working the intermediate passing game. The K-State offense is prone to running the ball and working the short passing game more than airing out the ball. These trends imply longer, more methodical drives which generally lead to more field goals and modest scores overall.
Conversely, the Tigers did allow 336 yards passing against La. Tech, which implies a shootout could happen if Martinez is on his A-game. Given the uncertainty of how these two offenses could perform, it’s probably safer to AVOID betting the under/over on this game and waiting until these 2 teams establish themselves against quality competition.
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