The Louisville Cardinals and Mississippi Rebels meet Monday in a neutral-site game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Louisville vs. Mississippi odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
The Cardinals are looking for a bounce back after a 4-7 regular season, which included an 0-5 showing on the road. Can Louisville carry the flag for the ACC after a brutal Week 1? (Miami was smoked by Alabama, Clemson dropped the week’s marquee game to Georgia, Florida State lost to Notre Dame, Duke fell to Charlotte and Georgia Tech was upset by Northern Illinois as a 19-point home favorite).
The big news for the Rebels is that they’ll be without head coach Lane Kiffin, who tested positive for COVID-19 and is away from the team. The Rebels have yet to name a fill-in coach for the game, although it’s likely offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby, or co-defensive coordinators D.J. Durkin or Chris Partridge could fill the void.
Louisville vs. Mississippi odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:50 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Louisville +290 (bet $100 to win $290) | Mississippi -380 (bet $380 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Louisville +9.5 (-112) | Mississippi -9.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 75.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Louisville vs. Mississippi odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Mississippi 41, Louisville 27
Money line
Mississippi (-380) will cost you 3.8 times your potential return. That’s risky business for such a small profit. It’s an especially poor bet since it could be out of sorts early with their coach back not on hand.
AVOID.
Against the spread
MISSISSIPPI -9.5 (-112) could get off to a sluggish start in this one. The Rebels make their way to Atlanta without their coach, and it might take some to get untracked. However, they have a powerful offense led by QB Matt Corral.
The Rebs racked up 384.3 total yards of offense per game last season, leading the nation. However, they need to take better care of the ball. Ole Miss turned it over 18 times last season, and that simply won’t do if it wants to be a top team in the ultra-competitive SEC West.
We’ll learn a lot about both teams in this one. The Rebels are ready for prime time, including standalone, marquee matchups. The Cardinals are simply mediocre, and will struggle just to attain bowl eligibility.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 75.5 (-108).
Under plays in college football are always dangerous, but this is a super high line. Yes, both Ole Miss and Louisville have powerful offenses, and very giving defenses. However, the Cardinals are replacing two top-notch receivers in Tutu Atwell and Dez Fitzpatrick, as well as RB Javian Hawkins. Ole Miss is trying to fill the shoes of WR Elijah Moore.
Toss in the fact Kiffin is away from the Rebs, and they could start off a little slow. Is it going to be a defensive slog? Definitely not. But a slow start will mean an uphill climb all evening for Over bettors, and they’ll come up just short.
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