Mississippi Rebels at No. 18 Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thursday, 2/9/12, 7:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Mississippi St -7.5
Current Betting Line: Mississippi St -8
Opening Total: 134
Current Total: 135.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
No. 15 Mississippi State Bulldogs at Ole Miss Rebels
Wednesday, 1/18/12, 9:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN3
Opening Point Spread: Mississippi State -2.5
Current Betting Line: Mississippi State -2.5
Opening Total: 131
Current Total: 131
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
As you would expect there were a lot of college football teams that didn’t look particularly impressive in their season debuts. The public will take note of those performances, and could start to form a negative opinion of the team in general. Once an opinion is formed early it it can be very slow to change – especially if the team stays under the radar the rest of the way through the season. Here’s a look at six teams that started the season weakly, but which should be poised to be better as the season progresses. I’m not suggesting by any means that these teams are going to go on to win their conferences and shock the world. They are just teams that stand a good chance of performing better than the public perception of them as the season progresses and they settle into their games. As you know, if public perception doesn’t match up to actual performance then there is probably value to be had.