The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Texas Longhorns meet Saturday in college football action from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Here’s a Texas vs Mississippi State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Texas vs Mississippi State pick.
Mississippi State Bulldogs Betting Preview
The Bulldogs stormed out of the gate this year with four straight wins over LA-Monroe, Minnesota, South Carolina and Missouri. Since then however, Mississippi State has taken three straight losses. Those defeats have come courtesy of Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma. In seven games so far that gives the Bulldogs a 4-3 run.
In the Oklahoma game last weekend the Bulldogs were blanked in the first half and went into the locker room trailing 10-0. Mississippi State finally got onto the scoreboard midway through the third quarter but never really found a rhythm in a 23-15 loss. QB Parker Puckett was 17-of-24 for 158 yards, one TD and one pick during the losing effort.
Texas Longhorns Betting Preview
Over on the Texas side, they opened up the season with four straight wins but things have been shaky since then. The Longhorns took out Texas State, Ohio State, UTSA and Tennessee in their first quartet, then lost to Oklahoma and Florida. After a win over Ole Miss the Longhorns stand at 5-2 overall so far this year.
In the Ole Miss game back on Saturday the Longhorns got right to work with 24 points in the first half. Texas slowed down a bit after the break but eventually held on for the tight win 34-27. QB Arch Manning was 18-of-30 for 212 yards, one TD and two picks. Raleek Brown led the rush with 23 carries for 157 yards in the winning effort.
Texas Longhorns Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 9, Colin Simmons ranks 1st amongst FBS players for sacks (10.5) this season.
Mississippi State Bulldogs Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 9, Anthony Evans III leads the Southeastern Conference for receptions (53) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- Texas has overturned the largest 3rd quarter deficit to win a game this season – 20 points vs Ohio State.
- Four of Texas’ seven games this season have been decided by a margin of three points or less – equal-most amongst FBS teams.
- Mississippi State ranks 135th among FBS teams for Q3 opponent points per game this season (9.3).
- Mississippi State ranks 128th among FBS teams for passing yards allowed per game this season (267.4).
Texas vs Mississippi State Prediction
I was leaning toward Texas but the line seems thick enough for the Bulldogs to get in there. The Longhorns slowed a bit after halftime in their one-score win over Ole Miss last weekend but everything worked out in the end. Texas finished with 23 first downs and 419 yards, but also went just 3-of-13 on third-down tries and had three turnovers. The 14 team penalties for 134 yards were also pretty ugly. Still, Texas really needed a win after consecutive losses, and they got it.
As for Mississippi State, they went a putrid 1-of-11 on third downs in their loss to Oklahoma and also had a couple of turnovers. That makes a combined 15 points over the last two games, which follows four straight outings with 31 or more points. They’re going to have to get it in gear for this one.