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The Mississippi State Bulldogs hope to post similar results to start the year as they did last year. They once again begin with a team from Louisiana, but instead of LSU, they face the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. Two years ago, LaTech won 10 games and seemed to very much be on the up and up. Last year, they went a mere 5-5 in a pretty tumultuous season obviously. Now with a full slate ahead, LaTech hopes to get back to their winning ways, as they had a streak going of six straight winning seasons going from 2014-2019.
How to watch Mississippi State vs. LaTech
Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Watch Online: ESPN App
Louisiana Tech was picked to finish third in the West Division of Conference USA this year. They’re trailing UAB and UTSA in that order and were not one of five teams to receive first-place votes (UAB, UTSA, WKU, FAU, and conference favorite Marshall). They had five players featured on CUSA’s preseason watch list, including running back Marcus Williams — a transfer from Appalachian State, linebacker Trey Baldwin, and punt returner Smoke Harris.
Mississippi State only had one representative on any Preseason All-SEC team. That man was offensive lineman Charles Cross. There’s a lot of uncertainty with the State offense, but the hope is that Will Rogers at quarterback will give them enough juice. This will be an interesting test for sophomore Jo’quavious Marks, who’ll hope to continue to try and fill the shoes left by Kylin Hill at running back.
State is facing a LaTech defense that was very bad a season ago. They allowed 35 points and over 427 yards per game on offense. They do return 10 starters, including linebacker Tyler Grubbs who led the team in tackles a season ago. Trey Baldwin also should be pretty solid at linebacker, too.
Betting Odds
Spread: LaTech +23 | Mississippi State -23
Moneyline: LaTech +1000 | Mississippi State -2000
Total: 52.5
I’m not sure what to make of either side here, and since there’s absolutely no value in taking State I’m going to just balk on making a pick here. The total seems interesting enough, but with question marks about State on offense and neither team bringing in a ton of talent on defense, this feels like it could be very chaotic.