The last time Auburn and Mississippi State played in Starkville, Mississippi, these two SEC West teams produced one of the ugliest and most unwatchable college football games of all time. The 1983 scoreless tie between Oregon and Oregon State is probably the worst game in modern college football history, but Auburn’s 3-2 win over MSU in 2008 would very likely be No. 2 on the list. An entirely brutal showing from two offenses who couldn’t tie their shoelaces left ESPN2 viewers in shock. This year, however, things are poised to be very different when the Tigers visit the Bulldogs in the conference opener for both schools.

NCAA Football Odds: Auburn Tigers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Online Betting Odds: Auburn -2

Why To Bet On Auburn

The Tigers are going to be very fun to watch in 2010, whether or not they win big. Quarterback Cam Newton started his season in style this past Saturday in a 52-26 win over Arkansas State. Newton threw for 186 yards and ran for 171, showing a devastating one-two punch and accumulating 357 total yards for head coach Gene Chizik and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Mississippi State began the year by going up against a Memphis offense that is very short on raw athletic ability. Auburn will give MSU’s defense a level of speed and balance that will be hard to adjust to… at least in the early going. Malzahn is one of the premier offensive coordinators in big-time college football, and he’ll certainly show Mississippi State some looks the Bulldogs haven’t seen. Auburn is very likely to score a lot of points in this game.

Why To Bet On Mississippi State

The Bulldogs can score as well. Yes, they ran wild against a very weak Memphis team this past weekend, but a 49-7 win over the Tigers represented as fluid an offensive performance as anyone has seen in the still-developing Dan Mullen era. Mullen, the second-year head coach in Starkville, tutored Tim Tebow at Florida and also developed Alex Smith when working for Urban Meyer in a previous coaching stop at Utah. Mullen’s proven quality as a quarterback guru could well be emerging in his guidance of signal caller Tyler Russell. Mullen’s new prot?g? merely hit 13-of-16 passes for 256 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions against Memphis. With that kind of crisp execution, Mississippi State will be able to light up an Auburn defense that gave up 23 points in just 32 minutes to Sun Belt member Arkansas State. Auburn’s defense is going to be very vulnerable throughout 2010, and Mississippi State might have the offense that can take advantage of that very fact.

How The Game Will Play Out

The scoreboard will be busy on Thursday night, and footballs will fly through the air. It’s going to be a wild game in Starkville, with Auburn having the better weapons in a full-on firefight. Newton’s ability to run in the open field will be a major difference maker. Malzahn’s brilliance as a playcaller will also help Auburn to outpace Mississippi State.

Auburn Mississippi State BettingPick: Auburn

Posted on September 9th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Sportsbook news