The Battle for Highway 82 between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Mississippi State Bulldogs has been a rather one-sided college football wagering affair in the past nine years. The Roll Tide is 9-0 SU against the Bulldogs since 2008, winning each game by an average of 23.6 points, including last season’s 51-3 SU and ATS win in which the total obviously went over and quarterback Jalen Hurts had 447 offensive yards and five touchdowns . Mississippi State last defeated Alabama on November 10, 2007.
- Date: November 11th
- Time: 7:05 PM
- Venue: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
- Sportsbook online NCAA football betting odds:
Alabama -14½ (-110) -600
Mississippi St +14½ (-110) +450
Things we lost in the win
“Not everything was a win for the Crimson Tide,” in Saturday’s 24-10 victory over LSU. It was, as a matter of fact, an ATS loss, for one thing. The Tide lost, in addition to that, linebackers Shaun Dion Hamilton and Mack Wilson, both of whom underwent surgery on Sunday, following which they posted optimistic messages on Twitter. Hamilton will, regardless, join linebackers Terrell Lewis and Christian Miller as Alabama players for whom the season ended early. The offense also struggled against the Tigers, who forced ‘Bama to punt on several occasions. That actually redounded to the Tide’s benefit, though, as punter JK Scott punted eight times, six of landed inside the 20, for an average of 51.6 yards.
Alabama fans be like: JK Scott is the greatest punter of all time! pic.twitter.com/N5uAtnunYb
— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) November 5, 2017
Alabama is 6-1 ATS in their last seven road games and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 SEC games, while Mississippi State is 4-1 ATS in their last five home games and 21-5 ATS in their last 26 at home playing a team with a winning road record. The home team is 5-2 against the college football wagering spread in the last seven encounters between these two schools.
Playmakers wanted
Alabama will not be the only team going undermanned into this game. The Bulldogs’ wide receiver position is so thin they had to resort to cornerback Jamal Peters, who had practice as a receiver last year. Furthermore, fifth-string punt returner Deddrick Thomas whose day job is as receiver, but was pushed to the fore due to Donald Gray, Gabe Myles, and Keith Mixon all being out with sundry injuries. “Your numbers are so down, you’re just looking for playmakers,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “There are not a whole lot of guys to turn to.” Thomas returned a punt, his first since high school, 83 yards for a touchdown with five minutes remaining, and Mississippi State, managed to hold off Massachusetts 34-23 on Saturday, their fourth straight-up win, though the failed to cover for the first time in four weeks. On the other hand, the college football wagering total went over in a Bulldogs game for the first time since late September. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald has accounted for an average of 283.5 offensive yards per game during the program’s four-game winning streak. Mississippi State is 2-1 SU and ATS against ranked teams, which doesn’t bode well for their chances against the AP-ranked No. 1 team in the country.