Vic Monte
2000* Detroit Tigers -110
Jason Johnson
LSU at Mississippi St.
Pick: Mississippi St
While they were stuffed at the goal line at the buzzer last week, we saw a Mississippi State team that dominated the defending national champions. Auburn couldn't stop the Bulldogs offense as Mississippi State racked up 531 total yards and held the ball for better than 36 minutes. Look for coach Dan Mullen to run the ball and control the clock again on Thursday night against LSU.
LSU has a QB problem and that problem is that Jarrett Lee simply isn't good. Lee was just 10/22 for 98 yards in the game against Oregon and I don't expect him to be much better at Mississippi State. The lack of a downfield threat will allow the Bulldogs to put eight in the box on defense and shut down the LSU running game.
This is a rare Thursday night appearance for both schools in a prime time SEC game. We all know that funny things can happen with home underdogs at night under the lights and I think we're about to see a thriller. 4 1/2 points is simply too much to pass up but I'd consider putting a few bucks on the money line as well.
Mississippi State by a field goal.
Bob Balfe
Tampa Bay Rays +105
Both teams are doing everything they can to give the wildcard to each other. This is a very big series and with playoff type baseball you have to look at the pitching. Hellickson is leaps and bounds better than Weiland and that is all you really have to know for a game like this. Take Tampa.
Ben Burns
10* Mississippi St
I'm playing on MISSISSIPPI STATE. Obviously, this is a huge game for both teams. LSU wants to stay undefeated. Mississippi State wants to bounce back from last week's loss to Auburn and to avenge a string of losses in this series. The Tigers bring the higher seed to the table and a victory against Oregon on their resume. Clearly, they're a talented team. The Bulldogs are better than many realize too though and I feel that this season's early results are helping to provide us with excellent value. Mississippi State won nine games last season, including victories over teams like Georgia and Florida. Its only home losses were a 3-point setback against Auburn, the eventual national champion and a double-OT loss against Arkansas, ranked #13 at the time. (It should be noted that the Bulldogs did get "blown out" at LSU - however, it should also be noted that turnovers led to the lopsided score.) This year's Mississippi State squad brought back a whopping 16 starters, the most in Dan Mullen's career here yet. The Bulldogs may not be "fancy" but that doesn't mean they don't possess a potent offense. Through two games, they're averaging 585 yards and 46.5 points. Even with some injuries on the offensive line, this is still a very experienced Bulldog offense and I expect them to have success here. Note that the Bulldogs are playing their home opener and that they're 15-5 SU their last 20 home openers, including 3-0 the last three years. The Tigers are 4-5 ATS in road lined games the past few seasons, 1-2 ATS as road favorites. Off to a 2-0 start, note that the Tigers are also an ugly 35-53 ATS in lined games, when coming off two or more consecutive victories, including a 4-8 ATS mark their last 12 in that situation. The Bulldogs have the physical talent to match up against LSU. They're playing at home on a Thursday night and they're getting a field goal (or more) to boot. They very nearly knocked off the Tigers here in 2009, outgaining them by a 151 to 30 margin on the ground in that game. That one was eventually decided by four points. While I feel the Bulldogs have an excellent shot at the outright victory, in a game that could once again easily come down to the wire, I'll gladly grab the points.
Sean Higgs
4* LSU / Miss State Under 50
Had a loser with this Mississippi State crew last week. They did outgain Auburn and had a chance to force OT getting stop just short of the end-zone as time expired. Let me tell you something. They aren't going to be moving the ball at will on this team. LSU is nice fresh for this matchup. They won't be overlooking the Bulldogs. They have watched tape all week long on QB Relf and Les Miles will have him under wraps. LSU has averaged 45ppg the last 2, but we are in SEC country now boys. LSU has gone under 6 of thier last 8 in conference, MissState under 7-2 under last 9 conference tilts. 4* UNDER LSU/Miss State
Wayne Root
Millionaire - Mississippi St
Larry Cook
7* White Sox -107
Wunderdog
LSU at Mississippi State
Pick: Mississippi State +4
Things aren't always as they appear. The public jumping on LSU here because they are focused on what they think they saw. LSU put up an impressive win over Oregon in their opener, and won by 46 points last week. Mississipi State lost last week to Auburn - a team that wasn't supposed to be that good this year. But, when we look deeper, the results may be misleading. The Bulldogs certainly let one slip away on the road last week at Auburn. On the scoreboard they lost the game, but a quick tour through the numbers shows that Mississippi State outplayed Auburn. A goal-line tackle on the final play preserved a win for Auburn, but take a look at the stats. The Bulldogs held Auburn to just 4 of 12 on third-down. Miss State outgained the Tigers by 150 yards, won the time of posession battle 37 minutes to 23 and put up 10 more first downs. The fact that they missed notching the W by a few inches leads to a home underdog status here and I love the value. LSU opened their season with an impressive win at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas over Oregon. They were on the wrong side of the numbers in that game however, getting out-gained by the Ducks. Oregon coughed the ball up four times in crucial spots, giving LSU a misleading big win in what was really a much closer game. My computer matchup for this game has LSU winning by a field goal. This is a crucial game for the Bulldogs as they end it at either 2-1 or 1-2, a big difference. With the national TV spotlight, the crowd will be raucous and I expect a great effort from the home team here. Under Les Miles, LSU is just 15-30 ATS in SEC games and 11-22 ATS coming off a home win. Take the Bulldogs here.
Northcoast
Marquee GOM - Mississippi St +3.5
KELSO
25 Units LSU Tigers -3.5
25 Units Tampa Bay Rays +105
15 Units Oakland Athletics +110
10 Units Chicago Cubs +140
Dom Chambers
60 Dime LSU
30 Dime LSU / Mississippi St Over
Larry Cook
7* White Sox -107
10* Mississippi St
10* LSU / Mississippi St Under
Jim Feist
25* Red Sox
15* LSU
Tim Trushel
20* Detroit / Oakland Under
10* Mississippi St
Fairway Jay
10* Mississippi St