Auburn vs Mississippi State 2010 College Football Predictions: The Mississippi State Bulldogs will have revenge on their minds when they host the 22nd ranked Auburn Tigers Thursday night (7:45 pm ET, ESPN) in a crucial SEC West battle between the two schools. As of Thursday morning, Sportsbook.com was listing Auburn as a single point (-1) favorite versus MSU with a posted total of 56 1/2 points.
Last year at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 49-24. The Bulldogs had few answers for Auburn's running game, which totaled five touchdowns and 390 yards.
Auburn hasn't played well on the road well the last two years, losing seven of eight since a bizarre 3-2 win over the Bulldogs two years ago. The Tigers hope their defense plays like it did in that game, when it held the Bulldogs to 116 total yards. The unit wasn't as sharp Saturday, allowing Arkansas State to rack up 323 passing yards.
Coming off back-to-back losing seasons, Mississippi State (1-0) held Memphis to 41 rushing yards to open with a 49-7 win Saturday. The Bulldogs' passing game keyed the victory, totaling 372 yards and five touchdowns. Although junior Chris Relf started at quarterback, freshman Tyler Russell played most of the game, going 13 of 16 for 256 yards and four touchdowns – two each to sophomores Chad Bumphis and Brandon Heavens.
The Tigers feature a new quarterback who can strike with his feet and his arm. In his Auburn debut, Cam Newton rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns while completing 9-of-14 passes for 186 and three scores in Auburn’s 52-26 win against Arkansas State. Newton accounted for 357 total offensive yards and five touchdowns, both highs in the SEC in Week One. He leads the SEC in rushing and total offense, and is second in passing efficiency and all-purpose yards.
In his first collegiate game as a Bulldog, redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Russell completed 13-of-16 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns in the teams win over Memphis. Brandon Heavens had 112 receiving yards and his first two career touchdowns, while Chad Bumphis had 100 yards receiving and two scores. Chris Relf earned his first career starting nod in the season opener, and completed 7-of-9 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Vick Ballard led all rushers with 60 yards to go along with his two touchdowns. His second quarter TD run went for 51 yards while his third-quarter touchdown came from 1-yard out.
Making a college football prediction for this game isn't all that hard. Pundits are making the Bulldogs a trendy pick but Auburn will win it in the end. Basically its about who has the best players and that award goes to the Tigers. MSU will keep it interesting for three quarters but the Tigers will win as a 1-point favorite. Gambling fans might want to give betting the total some thought. Auburn's defense has some holes, as Arkansas State's offense exposed in week-1 while the Tigers offense can score some points. From the looks of it, so can Mississippi State.
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