No. 3 LSU Tigers at No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thursday, 9/15/11, 8:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: LSU -4.5
Current Betting Line: LSU -3
Opening Total: 48
Current Total: 48.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
LSU is set to play only its second non-Holiday Thursday night game in school history and is coming off a 49-3 non-conference win over Northwestern State as 49-point home favorites. “We are playing and practicing at a good tempo right now,” said Tigers wide receiver Rueben Randle. “With the game being Thursday, we have to increase and speed everything up.” The Tigers are definitely at an advantage of not expending much energy facing a much lesser opponent, while the Bulldogs were in a physical SEC opener against Auburn. LSU is 21-15 ATS as a road favorite.
The Tigers are 24-13 against top 25 teams during head coach Les Miles tenure on campus and the school will be playing in the first game in this series when both teams enter ranked. LSU’s rushing defense leads the conference in allowing just 45.5 yards a game and will be going against a Mississippi State rushing attack that has gashed opposing defenses for 321 yards a game. Losing in September just isn’t acceptable around Baton Rouge and the Tigers will head off on the road looking to continue a streak of 19 straight wins in September.
Mississippi State failed to deliver as 5.5-point road favorites last week in dropping a 41-34 contest to Auburn, but will play its ninth straight games as a ranked team, which is the longest streak for the program since 1999. The Bulldogs came within a yard of possibly tying the game last week and head coach Dan Mullen will preach that positively in practice. “We have to find a way to take that final inch,” he stated after last Saturday’s defeat. Offensively, the team has had no problems in scoring, tallying 30 or more points in five consecutive games. Mississippi State is 0-2 ATS as a home underdog of three points or less the last two-plus campaigns.
The Bulldogs faithful will likely storm the field in Starksville if they happen to pull off the upset, as it will snap an 11-game losing streak to the Tigers. Mississippi State has actually lost 18 of the last 19 in the series. Senior running back Vick Ballard will be the main weapon in trying to spring the upset, coming in with 301 yards and four touchdowns this season. He was limited to 28 yards on 11 carries in last year’s 29-7 loss as 7.5-point road underdogs.
Bettors will likely back the Tigers due to their 11-3 ATS mark in the last 14 meetings, while the Bulldogs are 1-6 ATS on Thursdays.
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