Kentucky vs. Miss State Spread Pick
The Kentucky Wildcats are off to a perfect start, posting a 3-0 record in their first three games of the season. That said, they’ll face a stiff test on Saturday night when they host SEC foe Mississippi State at 7:00 p.m. ET. Will the Bulldogs prevail with not only a win but also a cover?
Game Snapshot
359 Mississippi State Bulldogs at 360 Kentucky Wildcats
7:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 22, 2018
Kroger Field, Lexington, Kentucky
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Bulldogs are 10-point favorites to beat the Wildcats. The total, meanwhile, sits at 55.5 points. As of this writing, 51% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State redshirt senior QB Nick Fitzgerald passed for 243 yards on 14-of-21 passes for two scores and ran for 107 yards and four scores in a 56-10 victory over Louisiana on Saturday. We can’t imagine how many yards Fitzgerald would have gone for if this game was competitive. He once again was impressive running the read-option, but this time, he was much more accurate throwing the football than he was against Kansas State. He was on time on most of his throws, and the 6-foot-5, 230-pound quarterback showed of his speed and ability to break tackles all night. If Fitzgerald plays like this all season, the Bulldogs are going to be tough to beat. A showdown with Kentucky comes next Saturday.
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky HC Mark Stoops said that Kentucky freshman WR Allen Dailey will be more involved with the offense as the season progresses. A three-star signing by the Wildcats, Dailey had two catches for 38 yards and a score in the rout of Murray State on Saturday. At 6-foot-3, 195-pounds, he has the size to be a red-zone threat, but also is athletic enough to make plays in the open field. Kentucky is going to ride Benny Snell all season, but Dailey is a player that potentially could eliminate the stuffed boxes that Snell is sure to face as the season progresses.
Betting Trends
Mississippi State
Thee Bulldogs have covered the spread in four straight games and are 6-2 against the number in their last eight games played in the month of September.
Kentucky
The Wildcats are 3-9 against the spread in their last 12 games overall and 6-20 against the number in their last 26 home games.
Prediction
Kentucky has played well defensively thus far but this will be that unit’s biggest test to date. This game sort of has a feel to it like the Kansas State game in Week 2, when Mississippi State went into Manhattan and beat the Wildcats 31-10 after a fairly competitive first half. The Bulldogs covered the 6.5-point spread that day and while they’ll need to cover a double-digit number on Saturday night in Kentucky I believe they’ll do so. The Wildcats don’t have the offense to hang with the Bulldogs for four quarters so while the first half could be competitive, I like Miss State to eventually pull away.
College Football Prediction: Mississippi State Bulldogs -10