The No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-1) will head to take on the No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies (4-0) this week in a huge matchup. The game will begin Saturday, Oct 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In last week’s matchup, Texas A&M defeated Arkansas 28-21. Christian Kirk had a huge game in the victory, grabbing eight receptions for 173 yards and two TDs. Kyle Allen also had a great game with 358 yards and two TDs through the air. Mississippi State defeated Auburn 17-9 in its matchup. Dak Prescott had a great game through the air for the Bulldogs, connecting on 29 of 41 pass attempts for 270 yards and two TDs. Fred Ross had 66 receiving yards on seven catches.
Texas A&M is a six-point favorite against the Bulldogs.
Sitting at 4-0 Straight Up (SU) and 3-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Aggies will look to improve heading into Week 5. They are averaging 41.5 points per game, 19th-best in the nation. Teams complete passes at a high percentage against the Bulldogs. They allow a completion rate of 66.7% to their opponents, 116th in the nation. The Bulldogs might have a tough time putting up points against Texas A&M’s scoring defense, which gives up 22.0 points per game. The Bulldogs will need to stop Texas A&M’s defense from getting to their quarterbacks in order to be successful in this game. The Aggies lead the nation in sacks with 4.2 per game. In the first quarter, Texas A&M is tough to stop, putting up 12.2 points in the first 15 minutes.
Over on the other sideline, the Bulldogs head into Week 5 with records of 3-1 both ATS and SU. Passing the ball has resulted in a high success rate for the Bulldogs, who average the 25th-best completion percentage in the nation at 66.9%. Shifting to the other side of the ball, it might be tough for the Aggies to keep up with Mississippi State’s defense in a few areas. The Texas A&M offensive line better prepare this week because the Bulldogs get to opposing quarterbacks with ease. The Bulldogs defense is currently 16th in the country with an average of three sacks per game. The Bulldogs will look to put the ball in the end zone against a Texas A&M defense that allows an average of 8.5 points in the third quarter, one of the worst marks in the nation.
Predictions: SU Winner – Texas A&M, ATS Winner – Texas A&M
Notes
Texas A&M is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
Texas A&M is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games at home.
Texas A&M is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas A&M’s last 6 games at home.
Both teams are 3-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
According to overall FBS team rankings, Texas A&M is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 58th-ranked rushing attack will face the 81st-ranked run defense of Mississippi State, while its 82nd-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 99th-ranked running game of the Bulldogs.
