Mississippi State vs. K-State Total Pick
While Mississippi State racked up 63 points a week ago in its season opener, Kansas State nearly lost to South Dakota because the Wildcats couldn’t generate much offense outside of a key punt return in the fourth quarter. Will the under hit on Saturday when the Wildcats host the Bulldogs at 12:00 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
323 Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. 324 Kansas State Wildcats
12:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 8, 2018
Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Bulldogs are 9.5-point favorites to beat the Wildcats. The total, meanwhile, sits at 54 points. As of this writing, 69% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State sophomore QB Keytaon Thompson completed just 13-of-31 passes, but threw for five touchdowns and 364 yards while rushing for 109 yards and a score in a 63-6 walloping of Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. That completion percentage is ugly, and Thompson had just as many moments of “yikes” as he did of “wow.” Still, there were some definite “wow” moments, and he was more than up to the task of replacing the suspended Nick Fitzgerald. He showed moments of competency when he replaced Fitzgerald after his ugly injury as well, but he didn’t have any kind of statistical output like this. He also didn’t face a team as bad as Stephen F. Austin. Thompson will be back to the bench almost assuredly next Saturday when the Bulldogs face Kansas State.
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State HC Bill Snyder said that junior WR Isaiah Harris (undisclosed) should be able to play in this coming weekend’s date with Mississippi State. Harris (5’8/166) was unable to take the field in K-State’s uncomfortably close win over South Dakota on Saturday, but sounds like he’s past his health concern, now. He’s not an integral cog in the Kansas State offense, having caught a total of just 15 passes through the first two years of his career in Manhattan.
Betting Trends
Mississippi State
The under is 7-3 in the Bulldogs’ last 10 games played in the month of September.
Kansas State
The under is 5-1 in the Wildcats’ last six home games.
Prediction
One of the key reasons why Joe Moorhead was hired at Mississippi State is because he has a reputation for building offenses that can score in a flash. With suspended quarterback Nick Fitzgerald returning this Saturday, the Bulldogs should be able to build upon their 63-point performance last week against Stepehen F. Austin. That said, will Kansas State contribute enough offense to push the score over the total? The only reason why the Wildcats scored 27 points a week ago is because Isiah Zuber returned an 85-yard punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Until that moment, K-State was in serious danger of losing to South Dakota at home. So while the Bulldogs should score plenty of points, I don’t trust K-State.
College Football Prediction: Mississippi State/Kansas State under 54