EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 20^th, the (4-2) Mississippi State Bulldogs will be on the road to take on the (6-1) LSU Tigers.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of LSU 30.3 – Mississippi State 21.1 with an over/under of 51.5.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of LSU 27 – Mississippi State 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of LSU 27 – Mississippi State 17.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: LSU 202.1 YPG > Mississippi State 190.0 YPG

Rushing offense: Mississippi State 240.7 YPG > LSU 202.1 YPG

Scoring offense: LSU 32.0 PPG > Mississippi State 31.0 PPG

Scoring defense: Mississippi State 12.7 PPG > LSU 16.9 PPG

Passing defense: Mississippi State 174.3 YPG > LSU 219.9 YPG

Rushing defense: Mississippi State 115.3 YPG > LSU 120.4 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: LSU +1.0 > Mississippi State +0.4

Summary:

Mississippi State is (4-2) to start the season with wins over Stephen F. Austin, Kansas State, Louisiana, and #8 Auburn.  They suffered back to back losses to the Kentucky Wildcats and Florida Gators.  The Bulldogs rank 60^th in points per game (31.0) and 1^st in scoring defense (12.7 PPG).  Mississippi State is coming off a dominant 23-9 home win over the Auburn Tigers.  Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald has completed just 49% of his passes for 709 yards with 4 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.  Fitzgerald is much more of a running threat and is the team’s leading rusher with 513 yards and 7 touchdowns.  Running back Kylin Hill has rushed for 474 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Bulldogs’ defense ranks 14^th against the pass (174.3 YPG) and 19^th against the run (115.3 YPG).

LSU (6-1) has gone through the gauntlet to start the season with victories over #8 Miami, Southeastern Louisiana, #7 Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, and #2 Georgia.  Their lone defeat was a 27-19 road loss to the Florida Gators in week six.  The Tigers rank 51^st in points per game (32.0) and 17^th in scoring defense (16.9 PPG).  Quarterback Joe Burrow has completed 53% of his passes for 1,415 yards with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.  Running back Nick Brossette is having a monster season with 640 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns.  Backup tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire has rushed for 475 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Justin Jefferson leads the team in receiving with 453 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Tigers’ defense ranks 57^th against the pass (219.9 YPG) and 26^th against the run (120.4 YPG).  LSU ranks 10^th out of 130 teams in turnover margin (+1.0).

Bottom Line:

Mississippi State has had two weeks to prepare for this game coming off their bye week.  LSU has outscored their opposition at home 183-70.  Nick Fitzgerald doesn’t have the passing accuracy to exploit LSU’s weak secondary.  The Tigers will stack the box and keep Fitzgerald from killing them on the ground.  LSU is better equipped to win a grind it out type game and that’s exactly what they’ll do on Saturday.

LSU wins 24-2o

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