Mississippi State at ULL 8/31/19 - College Football Betting Odds & Picks
Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns
NCAAF: 12:00 PM EST
Aug. 31, 2019
TV: ESPNU
Latest Odds : MSST -22.5
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are set to visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana for a Week 1 clash against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. The Mississippi State Bulldogs will be looking to continue their success from the 2018 season as they went 8-5 with an appearance in the Outback Bowl. The Mississippi State Bulldogs will have a new look under center as Nick Fitzgerald graduated, but they have valuable options between Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens and Keytaon Thompson. The Bulldogs should have a strong rushing attack as they return RB Kylin Hill who contributed 734 yards and 4 TDs last season.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs had one of the best defenses in college football last season as they finished 2nd in points allowed, but they will need to replace some key talent. Eroll Thompson will step into a bigger role after the Bulldogs lost their leading tackler to the NFL Draft, but Thompson should succeed after contributing 87 tackles last year. Cameron Dantzler should have an even bigger season in the secondary as he pitched in 2 interceptions and 9 pass deflection during the 2018 season.
Click HERE to get ALL of our Bookie Blasters Daily Free NCAAF Picks & Predictions!
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns will be looking to have similar success as the 2018 season as they went 7-7 with an appearance in the AutoNation Cure Bowl. The Ragin’ Cajuns will need to replace their starting QB from a season ago as Andre Nunez graduated after contributing 2272 passing yards and 20 TDs last year. The ground attack should be strong once again for the Ragin’ Cajuns as they return RBs Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas who combined for 2166 rushing yards and 21 TDs in 2018.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns will need to be much better on the defensive side of the ball if they want to see a drastic improvement as they finished 105th in points allowed. The Ragin’ Cajuns will return their leading tackler from a season ago as Jacques Boudreaux pitched in 93 tackles and 5.5 TFL. The pass rush should also be amped up once again for the Ragin’ Cajuns as they return Chauncey Manac who contributed a team-high 8.5 TFL and 4 sacks last year.
Recent Betting Trends:
Bulldogs are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games.
Under is 4-1 in Bulldogs last 5 games in August.
Ragin' Cajuns are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
Over is 7-0 in Ragin' Cajuns last 7 vs. SEC.
Free Betting Pick: Louisiana Ragin Cajuns +22.5
This spread is a little high for me to back the stingy Mississippi State Bulldogs as they will be replacing a ton of key pieces between their QB and defensive starters at every level. The Ragin’ Cajuns will be going through a change themselves as they need to find a new QB, but their ground attack should once again be one of the best in the nation. Louisiana-Lafayette will try to stick to the ground game and throw in necessary situations, and while this may not win the game for them it will keep the clock running and the suspect Ragin’ Cajuns defense off the field. Final Score Prediction, Mississippi State Bulldogs win but fail to cover ATS 31-10.