Landon Tucker 
Mississippi State
Saturday night at 9:30 central most people in America will be winding down and reading their final social media posts for the day. As for the fans of Mississippi State, they will be trying to get that last bit of caffeine in their system before kickoff just to stay awake.
Key Players to Watch
The Bulldogs made their fans proud after a fast-paced offense showed out in their 56-7 victory over Eastern Kentucky. The Bulldogs were led by Baylor transfer QB Blake Shapen. Shapen passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers and a week one top-five QBR rating of 228.2. The Bulldogs were without their best wide receiver Kelly Akharaiyi due to injury. Wide receivers Jordan Mosely and Kevin Coleman had five catches each and two impressive touchdowns. Freshman star Mario Craver jr had two touchdowns. The Sun Devils looked dominant on defense after a 48-7 victory over Wyoming. Michigan State transfer QB Sam Leavitt had 258 yards through the air and two touchdowns. The Sun Devils also had five players with 25 yards rushing or more.
The Importance of the Matchup Between Mississippi State and Arizona State
Both teams are coming off of a discouraging 2023 season and both teams started on a great note after dominating victories. This part of the season is a marker to see where each team is. Arizona State, they’ve never had a victory over an SEC opponent. Mississippi State, they have an opportunity to start the season 2-0 after having their 13-year bowl streak end in 2023 due to a 5-7 record.
Who Will Win and Why?
The Sun Devils are favored by 6.5 points as of now 9/2. The Bulldogs will be on the road in a tough environment that has a lot of momentum. However, the defense of the Sun Devils that played so well against Wyoming last week did play against a fairly bad offense. It will be a true test to see if they can defend the deep ball against the Bulldogs. We predict the Bulldogs win 31-25 in a great game. If folks in the central time zone can keep their eyes open long enough, they will see game with a lot of yards and potentially a lot of points.
About The Author
